CVE-2023-44381 | October CMS safe mode bypass using Page template injection

October is a Content Management System (CMS) and web platform to assist with development workflow. An authenticated backend user with the `editor.cms_pages`, `editor.cms_layouts`, or `editor.cms_partials` permissions who would normally not be permitted to provide PHP code to be executed by the CMS due to `cms.safe_mode` being enabled can craft a special request to include PHP code in the CMS template. This issue has been patched in version 3.4.15.

Published: 2023-12-01 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-44381 is rated Low Risk (33.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.51%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2023-44381

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 2026-06-15 0.18% 0.51% +0.34%
2 2025-11-21 0.35% 0.18% -0.17%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.35% —

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-44381

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N 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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.2 3.6 [email protected]
4.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N 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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.2 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-44381

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-44381

GHSA-q22j-5r3g-9hmh · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: composer — October CMS safe mode bypass using Page template injection

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-44381

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
octobercms october >= 3.0.0, < 3.4.15 cpe:2.3:a:octobercms:october:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-44381

cvelogic Threat Intelligence