Summary
Directus vulnerable to extraction of password hashes through export querying
Workarounds
Ensuring that no user has read access to the password field in directus_users is sufficient to prevent this vulnerability.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open a Discussion in directus/directus
- Email us at [email protected]
Impact
Users with read access to the password field in directus_users can extract the argon2 password hashes by brute forcing the export functionality combined with a _starts_with filter. This allows the user to enumerate the password hashes.
CVE-2023-27481 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, high 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 (9.16.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
The problem has been patched by preventing any hashed/concealed field to be filtered against with the _starts_with or other string operator.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-27481? CVE-2023-27481 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in directus (npm), affecting versions < 9.16.0. It is fixed in 9.16.0.
- How severe is CVE-2023-27481? CVE-2023-27481 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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.
- Which versions of directus are affected by CVE-2023-27481? directus (npm) versions < 9.16.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-27481? Yes. CVE-2023-27481 is fixed in 9.16.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-27481 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-27481 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-27481 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-27481? Upgrade
directusto 9.16.0 or later.