CVE-2023-48228 | OAuth2: PKCE can be fully circumvented

Exp

authentik is an open-source identity provider. When initialising a oauth2 flow with a `code_challenge` and `code_method` (thus requesting PKCE), the single sign-on provider (authentik) must check if there is a matching and existing `code_verifier` during the token step. Prior to versions 2023.10.4 and 2023.8.5, authentik checks if the contents of `code_verifier` is matching only when it is provided. When it is left out completely, authentik simply accepts the token request with out it; even when the flow was started with a `code_challenge`. authentik 2023.8.5 and 2023.10.4 fix this issue.

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

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-48228 is rated High Exploit Risk (72.7/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.14%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-48228

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-48228

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 2026-04-28 0.88% 1.14% +0.26%
2 2025-12-28 0.61% 0.88% +0.27%
3 2025-12-27 0.61%

Full EPSS history (22 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-48228

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:L/PR:N/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: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: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.
3.9 3.6 [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-2023-48228

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-48228

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
goauthentik authentik < 2023.8.5 cpe:2.3:a:goauthentik:authentik:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
goauthentik authentik >= 2023.10.0, < 2023.10.4 cpe:2.3:a:goauthentik:authentik:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-48228

URL Tags
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/blob/dd4e9030b4e667d3720be2feda24c08972602274/authentik/providers/oauth2/views/token.py#L225 Product
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/3af77ab3821fe9c7df8055ba5eade3d1ecea03a6 Patch
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/6b9afed21f7c39f171a4a445654cfe415bba37d5 Patch
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/b88e39411c12e3f9e04125a7887f12354f760a14 Patch
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/7666 Patch
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/7668 Patch
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/7669 Patch
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/releases/tag/version%2F2023.10.4 Release Notes
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/releases/tag/version%2F2023.8.5 Release Notes
https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/security/advisories/GHSA-fm34-v8xq-f2c3 Exploit Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence