CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-31138 — DHIS2 Core contains the service layer and Web API for DHIS2, an information system for data capture

High CVSS 7.1

DHIS2 Core contains the service layer and Web API for DHIS2, an information system for data capture. Starting in the 2.36 branch and prior to versions 2.37.9.1, 2.38.3.1, and 2.39.1.2, using object model traversal in the payload of a PATCH request, authenticated users with write access to an object may be able to modify related objects that they should not have access to. DHIS2 implementers should upgrade to a supported version of DHIS2 to receive a patch: 2.37.9.1, 2.38.3.1, or 2.39.1.2. It is possible to work around this issue by blocking all PATCH requests on a reverse proxy, but this may cause some issues with the functionality of built-in applications using legacy PATCH requests.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.1)
Published
2023-05-09
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-284, CWE-863

Affected products

  • dhis2 / dhis_2

Showing 1 representative product identities from 3 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Authorization bypass, IDOR, and cross-tenant access

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Map object and action authorization checks across API, UI, batch, import/export, and background-job paths.
  • Identify tenant, ownership, role, and policy boundaries for affected resources and administrative operations.
  • Use synthetic fixtures to compare intended access matrices without accessing another user's real data.

Remediate safely

  • Enforce server-side authorization at each resource access and state transition using the authenticated principal and trusted tenant context.
  • Scope data queries by tenant and ownership; treat client-supplied identifiers, roles, and policy claims as untrusted.
  • Add deny-by-default policy tests for horizontal and vertical access across every affected transport.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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