Security Resilience

CVE-2023-23614

Pi-Hole Web Interface 4.0 – 5.18.3

Public PoC
Published
26 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0097 61th percentile
Risk Priority 66 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-23614 is a high-severity Insufficient Session Expiration (CWE-613) vulnerability in Pi-Hole Web Interface. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Pass the Hash (T1550.002); ranked in the top 39% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Pi-hole®'s Web interface (based off of AdminLTE) provides a central location to manage your Pi-hole. Versions 4.0 and above, prior to 5.18.3 are vulnerable to Insufficient Session Expiration. Improper use of admin WEBPASSWORD hash as "Remember me for 7 days"…

more

cookie value makes it possible for an attacker to "pass the hash" to login or reuse a theoretically expired "remember me" cookie. It also exposes the hash over the network and stores it unnecessarily in the browser. The cookie itself is set to expire after 7 days but its value will remain valid as long as the admin password doesn't change. If a cookie is leaked or compromised it could be used forever as long as the admin password is not changed. An attacker that obtained the password hash via an other attack vector (for example a path traversal vulnerability) could use it to login as the admin by setting the hash as the cookie value without the need to crack it to obtain the admin password (pass the hash). The hash is exposed over the network and in the browser where the cookie is transmitted and stored. This issue is patched in version 5.18.3.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1550.002 Pass the Hash Lateral Movement
Adversaries may “pass the hash” using stolen password hashes to move laterally within an environment, bypassing normal system access controls.
T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-33405Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2025-32785Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2026-33404Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2026-26953Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2026-26952Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2026-33403Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2025-53533Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2026-33406Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2026-33765Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface
CVE-2025-59151Same product: Pi-Hole Web Interface

Affected Assets

pi-hole
web interface
4.0 — 5.18.3

Mitigating Controls

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.

addresses: CWE-613

Locks the device (typically after inactivity) until re-authentication, addressing insufficient session expiration by preventing indefinite access.

addresses: CWE-613

Automatically terminating sessions after a defined period directly enforces session expiration, preventing indefinite session lifetimes that attackers can exploit.

addresses: CWE-613

Re-authentication after inactivity or time-based triggers prevents indefinite use of potentially hijacked or stale sessions.

addresses: CWE-613

Terminating sessions and network connections upon completion prevents insufficient session expiration.

addresses: CWE-613

Directly enforces termination of network sessions after inactivity or end-of-session, preventing indefinite session lifetime.

addresses: CWE-613

Consistent clocks across systems allow session expiration and timeout enforcement to function as intended in distributed environments.

addresses: CWE-613

When the non-persistent artifact is a session or connection, mandatory termination implements the missing expiration that CWE-613 describes.

addresses: CWE-613

Timed refresh of session-related information or on-demand generation plus deletion implements proper session expiration.

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.AA-01 partial match
blocks

Credential lifecycle management directly includes enforcing session expiration to prevent reuse.

PR.AA-03 partial match
blocks

Authentication mechanisms can incorporate session timeout checks but do not inherently address expiration policy.

PR.AA-05 partial match
blocks

Authorization policy enforcement and review covers terminating stale sessions to limit access scope.

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

References