External risk intelligence

MISP Filter Mishandling Vulnerability CVE-2023-48657

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2023-48657

MISP (Malware Information Sharing Platform) is designed as a web-based application intended to facilitate the sharing of threat intelligence. It is commonly deployed as an internet-facing or inter-organizational web portal, making the underlying application interface and its endpoints frequently reachable from the network.

Misp Project Misp

before 2.4.176

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

An issue has been identified in the filtering mechanisms of the MISP platform, potentially affecting how data is processed and secured. This type of vulnerability can, at a high level, lead to unauthorized access or manipulation of information within systems that rely on such filtering for data integrity and security.

Security filters are not working correctly.
Protects shared threat intelligence data.
Confirm relevance and check exposure.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted filter requests to the MISP application, which is often exposed to the network. The application's mishandling of these filters in the `AppModel.php` file could allow an attacker to manipulate how data is processed, potentially leading to the disclosure of sensitive information or unauthorized data modification.

Requires network access to the application.
Triggered by malformed filter requests.
Risk of sensitive data exposure or modification.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker to potentially access, modify, or delete sensitive threat intelligence data stored within MISP by exploiting how the application handles filters in its logging features. This could occur when the application is configured to allow direct interaction with logging endpoints.

Sensitive threat intelligence data.
Unauthenticated network requests.
Compromised data integrity and availability.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The MISP application owner, likely a security or platform team, is responsible for addressing this SQL injection vulnerability. The immediate first step is to identify all MISP instances, confirm their exposure, and determine their criticality. Subsequently, a plan for remediation, prioritizing critical and exposed systems, should be developed.

Determine MISP instance ownership and exposure.
Verify instance reachability and business criticality.
Plan remediation based on identified risk.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is MISP?

MISP, or the Malware Information Sharing Platform, is a specialized software tool used by security teams to collect, store, and share threat intelligence. It functions as a central hub where organizations collaborate on analyzing cyber threats, tracking indicators of compromise, and managing sensitive security data within a structured, web-based environment.

How does CVE-2023-48657 impact data security?

This vulnerability involves an improper handling of filter inputs in the application's code, which is a common precursor to SQL injection. By providing specially crafted inputs, an attacker can trick the system into misinterpreting data queries. This could allow unauthorized parties to bypass security controls, potentially leading to the unauthorized viewing, modification, or deletion of the threat intelligence data managed by the platform.

Do I need to authenticate to trigger this vulnerability?

No, authentication is not required for an attacker to attempt this exploit. The vulnerability is triggered by sending malformed filter requests directly to the application. It is important to note that typical user actions, such as browsing the standard web interface for threat analysis, do not trigger this bug; it specifically requires the transmission of malicious, specially crafted inputs designed to manipulate the underlying database queries.

Is my instance at risk according to Halo Surface Signal?

Halo Surface Signal indicates that MISP is frequently deployed as an internet-facing portal to facilitate cross-organizational intelligence sharing. Because the application is intentionally designed to be reachable over the network, any instance that is exposed to the internet carries a higher risk profile and requires prompt attention to verify its security configuration.

What steps should I take if I run MISP?

Your first step is to inventory your environment to locate all active MISP instances and identify which ones are accessible over the network. Once identified, prioritize these instances based on their business criticality and exposure level. Follow standard procedures to update your software to version 2.4.176 or later, as this update contains the necessary code changes to correctly handle filter requests and mitigate this vulnerability.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.