Summary
Workarounds
Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?
Partial mitigation can be achieved by auditing JobButtonReceiver subclasses defined in the system and restricting which users are permitted to create or edit JobButton records.
References
Impact
When submitting a Job to run via a Job Button, only the model-level extras.run_job permission is checked (i.e., does the user have permission to run Jobs in general?). Object-level permissions (i.e., does the user have permission to run this specific Job?) are not enforced by the URL/view used in this case (/extras/job-button/<uuid>/run/) The effect is that a user with permissions to run even a single Job can actually run all configured JobButton Jobs.
Not all Jobs can be configured as JobButtons; only those implemented as subclasses of JobButtonReceiver can be used in this way, so this vulnerability only applies specifically to JobButtonReceiver subclasses.
Additionally, although the documentation states that both extras.run_job permission and extras.run_jobbutton permission must be granted to a user in order to run Jobs via JobButton, the extras.run_jobbutton permission is not actually enforced by the view code, only by the UI by disabling the button from being clicked normally. Furthermore, the extras.run_jobbutton permission never prevented invoking Jobs (including JobButtonReceiver subclasses) via the normal "Job Run" UI, so after some discussion, we've decided that the extras.run_jobbutton permission is redundant, and as it never achieved its stated/documented purpose, the fixes below will remove the UI check for extras.run_jobbutton and all other references to the extras.run_jobbutton permission, rather than adding enforcement of this previously unenforced permission.
The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.
CVE-2023-51649 has a CVSS score of 3.5 (Low). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (1.6.8, 2.1.0); 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
Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?
Fix will be available in Nautobot 1.6.8 (https://github.com/nautobot/nautobot/pull/4995) and 2.1.0 (https://github.com/nautobot/nautobot/pull/4993)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-51649? CVE-2023-51649 is a low-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in nautobot (pip), affecting versions >= 1.5.14, < 1.6.8. It is fixed in 1.6.8, 2.1.0. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- How severe is CVE-2023-51649? CVE-2023-51649 has a CVSS score of 3.5 (Low). 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 nautobot are affected by CVE-2023-51649? nautobot (pip) versions >= 1.5.14, < 1.6.8 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-51649? Yes. CVE-2023-51649 is fixed in 1.6.8, 2.1.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-51649 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-51649 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-2023-51649 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-2023-51649?
- Upgrade
nautobotto 1.6.8 or later - Upgrade
nautobotto 2.1.0 or later
- Upgrade