Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-0493

Btcpayserver Btcpay Server ≤ 1.7.5

Public PoC
Published
26 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS Score 0.079 94th percentile
Risk Priority 53 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-0493 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Equivalent Special Elements (CWE-76) vulnerability in Btcpayserver Btcpay Server. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-0493 is an improper neutralization of equivalent special elements vulnerability present in the btcpayserver/btcpayserver GitHub repository prior to version 1.7.5. The flaw is also referenced under CWEs 76 and 74 and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction, with impact limited to partial availability loss.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply crafted input that is not properly sanitized, resulting in HTML injection that may degrade service availability. Public references explicitly label the issue as HTML injection in BTCPay Server 1.7.4 and earlier.

The referenced GitHub pull request and associated commit neutralize the special elements responsible for the injection. The fix is included in the 1.7.5 release, and the issue was tracked through a huntr.dev bounty submission.

EPSS for the CVE has remained flat at 0.0999 with no material rise after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper Neutralization of Equivalent Special Elements in GitHub repository btcpayserver/btcpayserver prior to 1.7.5.

CWE(s)
CWE-76CWE-74

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1674 Input Injection Execution
Adversaries may simulate keystrokes on a victim’s computer by various means to perform any type of action on behalf of the user, such as launching the command interpreter using keyboard shortcuts, typing an inline script to be executed,…
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-1149Same product: Btcpayserver Btcpay Server
CVE-2026-11311Shared CWE-74, CWE-76
CVE-2023-23749Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-48835Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-51939Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-33242Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-4157Shared CWE-74
CVE-2024-28191Shared CWE-74
CVE-2022-2992Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-44373Shared CWE-74

Affected Assets

btcpayserver
btcpay server
≤ 1.7.5

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require consistent neutralization of all equivalent special elements during input validation and sanitization.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect incomplete neutralization but does not prevent the weakness itself.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and neutralization of all equivalent special elements.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include rules for handling special characters and equivalent encodings.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture principles require consistent canonicalization and neutralization of equivalent inputs.

References