Summary
Unintentional leakage of private information via cross-origin websocket session hijacking
Workarounds
Users can cherry-pick https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/commit/51096ad2345fb1d1380bec0a447113489ef6c359 if they are on v3.x
If you are running v2.x of NodeBB, you can cherry-pick a5d92da9ddac5607ab7f737520a66eaed6d3ddee followed by 62e162cf1e735e42462be1db9b4954b5a69accdf
Impact
Private messages or posts might be leaked to third parties if victim opens the attackers site while browsing nodebb.
CVE-2023-2850 has a CVSS score of 4.7 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (3.1.3, 2.8.13); 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.
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- Patched in v3.1.3
- Backported to v2.x line via v2.8.13
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-2850? CVE-2023-2850 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in nodebb (npm), affecting versions >= 3.0.0, < 3.1.3. It is fixed in 3.1.3, 2.8.13.
- How severe is CVE-2023-2850? CVE-2023-2850 has a CVSS score of 4.7 (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.
- Which versions of nodebb are affected by CVE-2023-2850? nodebb (npm) versions >= 3.0.0, < 3.1.3 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-2850? Yes. CVE-2023-2850 is fixed in 3.1.3, 2.8.13. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-2850 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-2850 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-2023-2850 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-2023-2850?
- Upgrade
nodebbto 3.1.3 or later - Upgrade
nodebbto 2.8.13 or later
- Upgrade