Summary
Description
wallabag was discovered to contain a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) which allows attackers to arbitrarily reset annotations, entries and tags, by the GET request to /reset/annotations, /reset/entries, /reset/tags, /reset/archived.
This vulnerability has a CVSSv3.1 score of 4.3.
You should immediately patch your instance to version 2.6.3 or higher if you have more than one user and/or having open registration.
Resolution
These actions are now doable only via POST method, which ensures that we can't do them via a 3rd-party website.
Credits
We would like to thank @zpbrent for reporting this issue through huntr.dev.
Reference: https://huntr.dev/bounties/4ee0ef74-e4d4-46e7-a05c-076bce522299/
Impact
A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones. Typical impact: state-changing actions performed as the victim without their consent.
CVE-2023-4454 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 (2.6.3); 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
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-4454? CVE-2023-4454 is a medium-severity cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in wallabag/wallabag (composer), affecting versions >= 2.0.0-alpha.1, <= 2.6.2. It is fixed in 2.6.3. A victim's authenticated browser session is used to submit forged requests to an application that cannot distinguish them from legitimate ones.
- How severe is CVE-2023-4454? CVE-2023-4454 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.
- Which versions of wallabag/wallabag are affected by CVE-2023-4454? wallabag/wallabag (composer) versions >= 2.0.0-alpha.1, <= 2.6.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-4454? Yes. CVE-2023-4454 is fixed in 2.6.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-4454 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-4454 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-2023-4454 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-2023-4454? Upgrade
wallabag/wallabagto 2.6.3 or later.