matrix-synapse vulnerable to temporary storage of plaintext passwords during password changes

CVE-2023-41335 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

Impact

When users update their passwords, the new credentials may be briefly held in the server database. While this doesn't grant the server any added capabilities—it already learns the users' passwords as part of the authentication process—it does disrupt the expectation that passwords won't be stored in the database. As a result, these passwords could inadvertently be captured in database backups for a longer duration.

These temporarily stored passwords are automatically erased after a 48-hour window.

Patches

https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/16272

References

This bug was due to a regression in https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13188.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
low
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2023-09-26 18:55:24 UTC
Updated
2024-09-30 20:42:57 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2023-09-26 18:55:24 UTC
NVD published
2023-09-27

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.18% 38.92%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
3.7 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.0 4.0 —
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:P)
Additional preconditions must be present for exploitation.
Privileges required (PR:H)
High privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:P)
A user has to participate (for example click/open/approve).
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:N)
No confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:N)
No integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:N)
No availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:L)
Limited confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:L)
Limited integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:N)
No availability impact on subsequent systems.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-4f74-84v3-j9q5 ↗
CVE CVE-2023-41335 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-312 Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
pip matrix-synapse >= 1.66.0, < 1.93.0 1.93.0 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence