CVE-2023-22578

Produced

SELECT count(id) AS "count" FROM "users"

Mitigations

Do not use user-provided content to build your list or attributes. If you do, make sure that attribute in question actually exists on your model by checking that it exists in the rawAttributes property of your model first.

A discussion thread about this issue is open at https://github.com/sequelize/sequelize/discussions/15694
CVE: CVE-2023-22578

Sequelize 6.28.2 and prior has a dangerous feature where using parentheses in the attribute option would make Sequelize use the string as-is in the SQL

User.findAll({
  attributes: [
    ['count(id)', 'count']
  ]
});

CVE-2023-22578 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (7.0.0-alpha.20, 6.29.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

This feature was deprecated in Sequelize 5, and using it prints a deprecation warning.

This issue has been patched in @sequelize/[email protected] and [email protected].

In Sequelize 7, it now produces the following:

SELECT "count(id)" AS "count" FROM "users"

In Sequelize 6, it throws an error explaining that we had to introduce a breaking change, and requires the user to explicitly opt-in to either the Sequelize 7 behavior (always escape) or the Sequelize 5 behavior (inline attributes that include () without escaping). See https://github.com/sequelize/sequelize/pull/15710 for more information.

1. What is CVE-2023-22578? CVE-2023-22578 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in @sequelize/core (npm), affecting versions < 7.0.0-alpha.20. It is fixed in 7.0.0-alpha.20, 6.29.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-22578? CVE-2023-22578 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-22578?
   • @sequelize/core (npm) (versions < 7.0.0-alpha.20)
   • sequelize (npm) (versions < 6.29.0)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-22578? Yes. CVE-2023-22578 is fixed in 7.0.0-alpha.20, 6.29.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-22578 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-22578 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2023-22578 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2023-22578?
   • Upgrade @sequelize/core to 7.0.0-alpha.20 or later
   • Upgrade sequelize to 6.29.0 or later