Security Resilience

CVE-2023-30628

RCE in Kiwitcms Kiwi Tcms ≤ 12.2

Published
24 April 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 0.036 89th percentile
Risk Priority 74 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-2023-30628 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Kiwitcms Kiwi Tcms. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 11% 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.

Kiwi TCMS, an open source test management system, contains a command-injection vulnerability in the changelog.yml GitHub Actions workflow. The flaw affects kiwitcms/Kiwi and kiwitcms/enterprise versions 12.2 and earlier and stems from unsafe use of the attacker-controlled github.head_ref field, which is interpolated directly into a shell command without sanitization, corresponding to CWE-78.

An authenticated user with write access to the repository can supply a malicious branch name such as zzz";echo${IFS}"hello";# in a pull request. Because the workflow runs with unrestricted permissions, this input results in arbitrary command execution on the GitHub Actions runner, enabling the attacker to read repository secrets, modify code, or perform other actions within the CI environment.

The project addressed the issue in commit 834c86dfd1b2492ccad7ebbfd6304bfec895fed2 for Kiwi and commit e39f7e156fdaf6fec09a15ea6f4e8fec8cdbf751 for Enterprise. The accompanying GitHub Security Advisory and the referenced GitHub Actions hardening guidance recommend avoiding untrusted inputs in workflow expressions and switching to safer alternatives such as github.event.pull_request.head.sha.

The EPSS score has remained flat at 0.1286 with no material increase after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Kiwi TCMS is an open source test management system. In kiwitcms/Kiwi v12.2 and prior and kiwitcms/enterprise v12.2 and prior, the `changelog.yml` workflow is vulnerable to command injection attacks because of using an untrusted `github.head_ref` field. The `github.head_ref` value is an…

more

attacker-controlled value. Assigning the value to `zzz";echo${IFS}"hello";#` can lead to command injection. Since the permission is not restricted, the attacker has a write-access to the repository. Commit 834c86dfd1b2492ccad7ebbfd6304bfec895fed2 of the kiwitcms/Kiwi repository and commit e39f7e156fdaf6fec09a15ea6f4e8fec8cdbf751 of the kiwitcms/enterprise repository contain a fix for this issue.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-34795Shared CWE-78
CVE-2025-56123Shared CWE-78
CVE-2025-15519Shared CWE-78
CVE-2024-50359Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-27626Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-16842Shared CWE-78
CVE-2025-13686Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-34955Shared CWE-78
CVE-2023-36143Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-31067Shared CWE-78

Affected Assets

kiwitcms
kiwi tcms
≤ 12.2

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)
  • V1.2.5
  • 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.

addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

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
blocks

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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