CVE-2023-23613

Advisory title: Field-level security issue with .keyword fields

Affected versions:

OpenSearch 1.0.0-1.3.7 and 2.0.0-2.4.1

Patched versions:

OpenSearch 1.3.8 and 2.5.0

Workaround:

FLS rules that use explicit exclusions can be written to grant explicit access instead. Policies authored in this way are not subject to this issue.

For more information:

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please contact AWS/Amazon Security via our issue reporting page (https://aws.amazon.com/security/vulnerability-reporting/) or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.

There is an issue in the implementation of field-level security (FLS) and field masking where rules written to explicitly exclude fields are not correctly applied for certain queries that rely on their auto-generated .keyword fields.

This issue is only present for authenticated users with read access to the indexes containing the restricted fields.

CVE-2023-23613 has a CVSS score of 5.7 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (1.3.8, 2.5.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

OpenSearch versions 1.3.8 and 2.5.0 contain a fix for this issue.

1. What is CVE-2023-23613? CVE-2023-23613 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security (maven), affecting versions < 1.3.8. It is fixed in 1.3.8, 2.5.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-23613? CVE-2023-23613 has a CVSS score of 5.7 (Medium). 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 versions of org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security are affected by CVE-2023-23613? org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security (maven) versions < 1.3.8 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-23613? Yes. CVE-2023-23613 is fixed in 1.3.8, 2.5.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-23613 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-23613 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-2023-23613 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-2023-23613?
   • Upgrade org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security to 1.3.8 or later
   • Upgrade org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security to 2.5.0 or later

Other vulnerabilities in org.opensearch.plugin:opensearch-security