External risk intelligence

Plone Docker Image Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2024-23054

Plone is a content management system typically deployed as a public-facing web application. As a web platform, it is commonly exposed to the internet to serve content or provide administrative access, placing the vulnerable components within the reachable attack surface of standard deployments.

Remote Code Execution

Plone Docker Official Image

5.2.13

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 Plone Docker Official Image that could allow remote code execution. This vulnerability stems from a missing package in the public index, which, if exploited, could have significant security implications for affected systems. The main concern at this time is to confirm if our environment uses this specific software.

A technical flaw allows remote code execution.
External groups could leverage this for broad impact.
Confirm relevance to our systems for security assessment.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could potentially execute remote code by exploiting a vulnerability in the Plone Docker Official Image. This occurs when a package referenced in the `++plone++static/components` path is missing from the public package index (npm), allowing for malicious code injection.

No authentication required to attack.
Triggered by missing package in public index.
Leads to remote code execution.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

When supported by the advisory, remote code execution could occur if a package required by the Plone Docker Official Image is missing from the public package index. This could impact the integrity and availability of the affected system.

System data and service integrity at risk.
Remote execution via missing package.
Unauthorized control over the system.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This vulnerability in the Plone Docker Official Image is likely to affect platform or infrastructure teams responsible for maintaining the deployment environment, as well as application owners who rely on its functionality. The initial practical step is to identify all instances of this image, determine their exposure and criticality, and then coordinate remediation efforts with the relevant teams and potentially the vendor.

Platform/infrastructure teams own remediation.
Verify external reachability and business criticality.
Plan coordinated remediation based on 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 the Plone Docker Official Image?

Plone is an open-source content management system designed for building websites and intranets. The Docker Official Image is a pre-configured, containerized version of the Plone 5.2.13 software. It provides a standardized way for developers and organizations to deploy the CMS in isolated environments, ensuring the application and its dependencies are packaged together for consistent operation across different servers.

What is the weakness in CVE-2024-23054?

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-427, which relates to an uncontrolled search path element. In plain English, the software expects a specific package to exist in the public npm registry to function properly. Because that package is missing, an attacker could potentially supply their own malicious code in its place. This flaw leads to remote code execution, meaning unauthorized individuals could run commands on the server hosting your Plone instance.

How is this vulnerability triggered?

The flaw is triggered when the system attempts to resolve a reference to a missing package located in the '++plone++static/components' path. If an attacker can influence or exploit this resolution process, they may gain control. It is important to note that this specific vulnerability is tied to the missing dependency in the public index; it is not triggered by normal user interaction with the CMS content itself, but rather by the underlying infrastructure's dependency lookup behavior.

Is my system at risk if it is not exposed to the internet?

Halo Surface Signal indicates that Plone is typically a public-facing web application, which significantly increases the risk for standard deployments. However, if your instance is strictly internal and unreachable from the internet, the potential for remote exploitation is reduced. You should still evaluate the system's security, as internal-only access does not eliminate the underlying software flaw, but it does change the primary attack vector.

What steps should I take if I use this software?

First, conduct an audit to determine if any of your systems are running version 5.2.13 of the Plone Docker Official Image. Once identified, work with your infrastructure or platform teams to assess the criticality of these instances. Since this is an image-level issue, coordinate with your team to review official guidance from Plone to update or secure the affected containers. Document these instances so you can quickly apply patches or configuration changes as they become available.

References

github.com/c0d3x27/CVEs/blob/main/CVE-2024-23054/README.md

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.