CVE-2023-31142Network attack vector

Category access reset via permission overwrite

Published Jun 13, 2023 · Updated Jan 2, 2025

Incorrect permission assignment in Discourse before 3.0.4 allows attackers to gain unintended access after category permissions reset. The software overwrites customized permissions on the General category with defaults; the vendor has not published the responsible code locus. The affected site must have changed those permissions, and the vendor assessment requires high privileges and user interaction.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.32%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect permission assignment in Discourse before 3.0.4 allows attackers to gain unintended access after category permissions reset. The software overwrites customized permissions on the General category with defaults; the vendor has not published the responsible code locus. The affected site must have changed those permissions, and the vendor assessment requires high privileges and user interaction.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-31142
Published
Jun 13, 2023
Updated
Jan 2, 2025
Vendor
Discourse
Product
Discourse
Classifications
CWE-732
Attack vector
network
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 13, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 2, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 3.0.4
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 3.1.0.beta1, < 3.1.0.beta5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Discourse · Discourseversion=< 3.0.4; version=>= 3.1.0.beta1, < 3.1.0.beta5

Published CVSS scores

2.0GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
5.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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