CVE-2023-49097

Workarounds

A ZITADEL fronting proxy can be configured to delete all Forwarded and X-Forwarded-Host header values before sending requests to ZITADEL self-hosted environments.

References

None

Questions

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [email protected]

ZITADEL uses the notification triggering requests Forwarded or X-Forwarded-Host header to build the button link sent in emails for confirming a password reset with the emailed code. If this header is overwritten and a user clicks the link to a malicious site in the email, the secret code can be retrieved and used to reset the users password and take over his account.

Accounts with MFA or Passwordless enabled can not be taken over by this attack.

CVE-2023-49097 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). 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 (2.39.9, 2.40.10, 2.41.6); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

The patched ZITADEL versions verify, that the auth requests instance is retrieved by the requests original domain (from the Forwarded or X-Forwarded-Host headers if available). If the instance can't be found using the original host or the auth request can't be found within that instance, ZITADEL throws an error.

2.x versions are fixed on >= 2.41.6
2.40.x versions are fixed on >= 2.40.10
2.39.x versions are fixed on >= 2.39.9

The vulnerablility was introduced with 2.39.0.

1. What is CVE-2023-49097? CVE-2023-49097 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/zitadel/zitadel (go), affecting versions >= 2.39.0, < 2.39.9. It is fixed in 2.39.9, 2.40.10, 2.41.6.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-49097? CVE-2023-49097 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). 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 github.com/zitadel/zitadel are affected by CVE-2023-49097? github.com/zitadel/zitadel (go) versions >= 2.39.0, < 2.39.9 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-49097? Yes. CVE-2023-49097 is fixed in 2.39.9, 2.40.10, 2.41.6. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-49097 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-49097 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-2023-49097 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-2023-49097?
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 2.39.9 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 2.40.10 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 2.41.6 or later

Other vulnerabilities in github.com/zitadel/zitadel