CVE-2023-48218 | Strapi Protected Populate Plugin leaking fields if the request fields where empty or only fields selected where not populatable

The Strapi Protected Populate Plugin protects `get` endpoints from revealing too much information. Prior to version 1.3.4, users were able to bypass the field level security. Users who tried to populate something that they didn't have access to could populate those fields anyway. This issue has been patched in version 1.3.4. There are no known workarounds.

Published: 2023-11-20 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-48218 is rated Low Risk (39.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.30%). 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-2023-48218

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 2025-11-21 0.20% 0.30% +0.09%
2 2025-11-18 0.30% 0.20% -0.09%
3 2025-04-15 — 0.30% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-48218

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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: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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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: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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-48218

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-48218

GHSA-6h67-934r-82g7 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: npm — Bypass of field access control in strapi-plugin-protected-populate

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-48218

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
strapi protected_populate < 1.3.4 cpe:2.3:a:strapi:protected_populate:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-48218

cvelogic Threat Intelligence