CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-38487 — HedgeDoc is software for creating real-time collaborative markdown notes

High CVSS 8.2

HedgeDoc is software for creating real-time collaborative markdown notes. Prior to version 1.9.9, the API of HedgeDoc 1 can be used to create notes with an alias matching the ID of existing notes. The affected existing note can then not be accessed anymore and is effectively hidden by the new one. When the freeURL feature is enabled (by setting the `allowFreeURL` config option or the `CMD_ALLOW_FREEURL` environment variable to `true`), any user with the appropriate permissions can create a note by making a POST request to the `/new/<ALIAS>` API endpoint. The `<ALIAS>` parameter can be set to the ID of an existing note. HedgeDoc did not verify whether the provided `<ALIAS>` value corresponds to a valid ID of an existing note and always allowed creation of the new note. When a visitor tried to access the existing note, HedgeDoc will first search for a note with a matching alias before it searches using the ID, therefore only the new note can be accessed. Depending on the permission settings of the HedgeDoc instance, the issue can be exploited only by logged-in users or by all (including non-logged-in) users. The exploit requires knowledge of the ID of the target note. Attackers coul…

Severity
High
CVSS
8.2 (3.1)
Published
2023-08-04
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-289

Affected products

  • hedgedoc / hedgedoc

Matched remediation archetype

General vulnerability remediation

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

Check exposure

  • Confirm the affected component, deployment paths, reachable interfaces, and enabled features from inventories and configuration, without probing production destructively.
  • Compare the advisory's affected conditions with the repository lockfiles, build manifests, artifacts, and runtime inventory.
  • Identify data sensitivity, trust boundaries, and privilege level for every confirmed affected deployment.

Remediate safely

  • Apply a vendor-supported fix or remove the affected component or feature; record the selected change and its source in the repository.
  • Update direct and transitive dependency locks, generated artifacts, deployment manifests, and asset inventories together.
  • Add a regression test for the documented unsafe condition using inert inputs and preserve rollback instructions.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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