Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-25657

RCE in Networktocode Nautobot ≤ 1.5.7

Published
21 February 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.015 72th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-25657 is a high-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Networktocode Nautobot. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 28% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Nautobot is a Network Source of Truth and Network Automation Platform. All users of Nautobot versions earlier than 1.5.7 are impacted by a remote code execution vulnerability. Nautobot did not properly sandbox Jinja2 template rendering. In Nautobot 1.5.7 has enabled…

more

sandboxed environments for the Jinja2 template engine used internally for template rendering for the following objects: `extras.ComputedField`, `extras.CustomLink`, `extras.ExportTemplate`, `extras.Secret`, `extras.Webhook`. While no active exploits of this vulnerability are known this change has been made as a preventative measure to protect against any potential remote code execution attacks utilizing maliciously crafted template code. This change forces the Jinja2 template engine to use a `SandboxedEnvironment` on all new installations of Nautobot. This addresses any potential unsafe code execution everywhere the helper function `nautobot.utilities.utils.render_jinja2` is called. Additionally, the documentation that had previously suggesting the direct use of `jinja2.Template` has been revised to suggest `render_jinja2`. Users are advised to upgrade to Nautobot 1.5.7 or newer. For users that are unable to upgrade to the latest release of Nautobot, you may add the following setting to your `nautobot_config.py` to apply the sandbox environment enforcement: `TEMPLATES[1]["OPTIONS"]["environment"] = "jinja2.sandbox.SandboxedEnvironment"` After applying this change, you must restart all Nautobot services, including any Celery worker processes. **Note:** *Nautobot specifies two template engines by default, the first being “django” for the Django built-in template engine, and the second being “jinja” for the Jinja2 template engine. This recommended setting will update the second item in the list of template engines, which is the Jinja2 engine.* For users that are unable to immediately update their configuration such as if a Nautobot service restart is too disruptive to operations, access to provide custom Jinja2 template values may be mitigated using permissions to restrict “change” (write) actions to the affected object types listed in the first section. **Note:** *This solution is intended to be stopgap until you can successfully update your `nautobot_config.py` or upgrade your Nautobot instance to apply the sandboxed environment enforcement.*

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
T1059.006 Python Execution
Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-44794Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2023-51649Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2026-44797Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2024-36112Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2023-48705Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2024-34707Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2026-44798Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2024-23345Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2024-32979Same product: Networktocode Nautobot
CVE-2023-50263Same product: Networktocode Nautobot

Affected Assets

networktocode
nautobot
≤ 1.5.7

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)
  • V1.3.1

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-94

Makes persistent code injection into loaded programs impossible when the executable image itself resides on hardware-protected read-only media.

addresses: CWE-94

Dynamically generated code can be produced and executed inside the isolated chamber, preventing host compromise from code-injection payloads.

addresses: CWE-94

Validates inputs used in dynamic code generation to block injected directives.

addresses: CWE-94

Directly prevents execution of attacker-supplied code written into data memory regions.

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

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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.

prevents

Banning unapproved code samples and unauthenticated web services, combined with secure-coding standards and SAST, prevents the dynamic generation or inclusion of attacker-supplied code.

none

Controls that restrict unauthorized or malicious code from being introduced via external networks or removable media limit opportunities for an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

References