CVE-2023-34250 : What You Need to Know

Discourse vulnerable to exposure of the number of topics recently created in private categories.

Understanding CVE-2023-34250

Discourse, an open-source discussion platform, has a vulnerability where an attacker could expose the number of topics recently created in private categories. This CVE has a CVSS base score of 4.8, making it a medium severity issue.

What is CVE-2023-34250?

Prior to version 3.0.4 of the

stable

branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the

beta

and

tests-passed

branches, an attacker could exploit the new topics dismissal endpoint to reveal the number of topics recently created in categories they didn't have access to. This did not expose the actual content of the topics, but only the count.

The Impact of CVE-2023-34250

This vulnerability could potentially lead to the exposure of sensitive information such as the activity level in private categories, which could impact user privacy and confidentiality.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-34250

The following technical details outline the vulnerability, affected systems and versions, and the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability allows attackers to determine the number of recently created topics in private categories without accessing the actual topic contents.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Vendor: discourse
Affected Product: discourse
Affected Versions:
< 3.0.4

: Affected

>= 3.1.0.beta1, < 3.1.0.beta5

: Affected

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by utilizing the new topics dismissal endpoint to obtain the count of topics in private categories.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2023-34250 involves immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Discourse to version 3.0.4 (for the

stable

branch) or version 3.1.0.beta5 (for the

beta

and

tests-passed

branches) to patch the vulnerability.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch Discourse to ensure the latest security fixes are applied.
Educate users on the importance of data privacy and sensitive information handling within the platform.

Patching and Updates

The issue is resolved in version 3.0.4 of the

stable

branch and version 3.1.0.beta5 of the

beta

and

tests-passed

branches.