Summary
Silverstripe Framework: Members with no password can be created and bypass custom login forms
When a new Member record was created in the cms it was possible to set a blank password. If an attacker knows the email address of the user with the blank password then they can attempt to log in using an empty password. The default member authenticator, login form and basic auth all require a non-empty password, however if a custom authentication method is used it may allow a successful login with the empty password. Starting with this release, blank passwords are no no longer allowed when members are created in the CMS. Programatically created Member records, such as those used in unit tests, still allow blank passwords. You may have some Member records in your system already which have empty passwords. To detect these, you can loop over all Member records with Member::get() and pass each record into the below method. It might be sensible to create a BuildTask for this purpose.
private function memberHasBlankPassword(Member $member): bool
{
// skip default admin as this is created programatically
if ($member->isDefaultAdmin()) {
return false;
}
// return true if a blank password is valid for this member
$authenticator = new MemberAuthenticator();
return $authenticator->checkPassword($member, '')->isValid();
}
Once you have identified the records with empty passwords, it's up to you how to handle this. The most sensible way to resolve this is probably to generate a new secure password for each of these members, mark it as immediately expired, and email each affected member (assuming they have a valid email address in the system).
Users would need to opt-in to insecure behavior by using a configuration which allowed for empty passwords. These configurations are not expected and hence this advisory is primarily informational in nature.
Reported by: Sabina Talipova from Silverstripe and Christian Bünte
Impact
The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.
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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silverstripe/framework to 5.0.13 or later; silverstripe/framework to 4.13.14 or later
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-32302? CVE-2023-32302 is a low-severity improper input validation vulnerability in silverstripe/framework (composer), affecting versions >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.13. It is fixed in 5.0.13, 4.13.14. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
- Which versions of silverstripe/framework are affected by CVE-2023-32302? silverstripe/framework (composer) versions >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.13 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-32302? Yes. CVE-2023-32302 is fixed in 5.0.13, 4.13.14. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-32302 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-32302 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-2023-32302 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-2023-32302?
- Upgrade
silverstripe/frameworkto 5.0.13 or later - Upgrade
silverstripe/frameworkto 4.13.14 or later
- Upgrade