CVE-2023-51444 | GeoServer arbitrary file upload vulnerability in REST Coverage Store API
Exp
GeoServer is an open source software server written in Java that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. An arbitrary file upload vulnerability exists in versions prior to 2.23.4 and 2.24.1 that enables an authenticated administrator with permissions to modify coverage stores through the REST Coverage Store API to upload arbitrary file contents to arbitrary file locations which can lead to remote code execution. Coverage stores that are configured using relative paths use a GeoServer Resource implementation that has validation to prevent path traversal but coverage stores that are configured using absolute paths use a different Resource implementation that does not prevent path traversal. This vulnerability can lead to executing arbitrary code. An administrator with limited privileges could also potentially exploit this to overwrite GeoServer security files and obtain full administrator privileges. Versions 2.23.4 and 2.24.1 contain a fix for this issue.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-51444 is rated High Exploit Risk (67.7/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.87%).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-2023-51444
Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-51444
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).