Security Resilience

CVE-2023-25819

Info Disclosure in Discourse ≤ 3.1.0

Published
04 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / 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:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0050 41th percentile
Risk Priority 44 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-2023-25819 is a medium-severity Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor (CWE-359) vulnerability in Discourse Discourse. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Protocol or Service Impersonation (T1001.003); ranked at the 41th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Tags that are normally private are showing in metadata. This affects any site running the `tests-passed` or `beta` branches >= 3.1.0.beta2. The issue is patched in the latest `beta` and `tests-passed`…

more

version of Discourse.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.
T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1021.003 Distributed Component Object Model Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-49765Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2024-28242Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-44391Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-23622Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-27162Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-45147Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-32099Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-33394Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-59828Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-45816Same product: Discourse Discourse

Affected Assets

discourse
discourse
3.1.0 · ≤ 3.1.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V10.3.5
  • V10.7.2

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-200 CWE-359

Automated marking applies security attributes to system outputs, making it harder for attackers to exploit unmarked sensitive information leading to unauthorized exposure.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Proper attribute retention and permitted-value enforcement limits unauthorized actors from accessing sensitive information lacking correct labels.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Review and removal of nonpublic information from publicly accessible systems directly prevents exposure of sensitive data to unauthorized actors.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Data mining protection mechanisms detect and block unauthorized bulk extraction of sensitive data, directly mitigating exposure to unauthorized actors.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Literacy training teaches users to recognize and avoid actions that result in unauthorized exposure of sensitive information.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Documenting information locations and authorized users enables better protection against unauthorized exposure of sensitive data.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Privacy and security architectures require controls to protect sensitive information from unauthorized exposure across the system lifecycle.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-359

Requiring detailed, requestable records of every PII disclosure directly aids detection of unauthorized exposures of sensitive information.

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.

RC.CO-04 partial match
degrades

CWE-359 does not impair RC.CO-04's ability to issue approved public recovery updates, yet any resulting PII exposure can partially undermine the outcome's overall efficacy and trust.

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.

blocks

A.5.10 only requires awareness, a topic-specific acceptable-use policy stating expected behaviours/monitoring, and procedures referencing classification and other controls; per the owner's explicit rule on labelling and similar dependency-style clauses, this does not itself prevent exposure (CWE-200) unless access/DLP/etc. act on it.

blocks

Requiring the return of all physical and electronic assets plus secure deletion of organizational data from personal devices reduces the chance that sensitive information remains accessible to departing personnel.

blocks

A.5.12 only defines and communicates a classification scheme so that protection needs can be understood; per the owner's explicit rule, labeling/classification does not itself prevent exposure and requires other controls (e.g. access enforcement) to act on it.

blocks

By requiring classification labels and metadata on all information assets, the control makes it harder for sensitive data to be inadvertently exposed because downstream systems and users can recognize and enforce handling rules based on those labels.

blocks

Requiring encryption, access controls, and recipient authentication for transfers directly reduces the chance that sensitive data reaches an unauthorized observer.

removes

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
  • V-260531 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must configure the SSH daemon to use FIPS 140-3-approved ciphers to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information and/or detect changes to information during transmission. blocks CWE-359
Ubuntu 24.04 (1 rule)
  • V-270670 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must configure the SSH client to use FIPS 140-3 approved ciphers to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information and/or detect changes to information during transmission. blocks CWE-359

References