CVE-2023-25657 | Remote code execution in Jinja2 template rendering in Nautobot

Nautobot is a Network Source of Truth and Network Automation Platform. All users of Nautobot versions earlier than 1.5.7 are impacted by a remote code execution vulnerability. Nautobot did not properly sandbox Jinja2 template rendering. In Nautobot 1.5.7 has enabled sandboxed environments for the Jinja2 template engine used internally for template rendering for the following objects: `extras.ComputedField`, `extras.CustomLink`, `extras.ExportTemplate`, `extras.Secret`, `extras.Webhook`. While no active exploits of this vulnerability are known this change has been made as a preventative measure to protect against any potential remote code execution attacks utilizing maliciously crafted template code. This change forces the Jinja2 template engine to use a `SandboxedEnvironment` on all new installations of Nautobot. This addresses any potential unsafe code execution everywhere the helper function `nautobot.utilities.utils.render_jinja2` is called. Additionally, the documentation that had previously suggesting the direct use of `jinja2.Template` has been revised to suggest `render_jinja2`. Users are advised to upgrade to Nautobot 1.5.7 or newer. For users that are unable to upgrade to the latest release of Nautobot, you may add the following setting to your `nautobot_config.py` to apply the sandbox environment enforcement: `TEMPLATES[1]["OPTIONS"]["environment"] = "jinja2.sandbox.SandboxedEnvironment"` After applying this change, you must restart all Nautobot services, including any Celery worker processes. **Note:** *Nautobot specifies two template engines by default, the first being “django” for the Django built-in template engine, and the second being “jinja” for the Jinja2 template engine. This recommended setting will update the second item in the list of template engines, which is the Jinja2 engine.* For users that are unable to immediately update their configuration such as if a Nautobot service restart is too disruptive to operations, access to provide custom Jinja2 template values may be mitigated using permissions to restrict “change” (write) actions to the affected object types listed in the first section. **Note:** *This solution is intended to be stopgap until you can successfully update your `nautobot_config.py` or upgrade your Nautobot instance to apply the sandboxed environment enforcement.*

Published: 2023-02-21 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-25657 is rated Moderate Risk (61.4/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.04%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.19% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-25657

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-24 1.86% 3.04% +1.19%
2 2026-02-23 2.38% 1.86% -0.53%
3 2025-11-21 2.38%

Full EPSS history (21 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-25657

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.6 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-25657

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-25657

GHSA-8mfq-f5wj-vw5m · Severity: high · Ecosystem: pip — Nautobot vulnerable to remote code execution via Jinja2 template rendering

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-25657

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
networktocode nautobot < 1.5.7 cpe:2.3:a:networktocode:nautobot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-25657

cvelogic Threat Intelligence