Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-38489

Getkirby Kirby 3.5.0 – 3.5.8.3

Published
27 July 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0081 54th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-38489 is a high-severity Insufficient Session Expiration (CWE-613) vulnerability in Getkirby Kirby. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 46% 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

Kirby is a content management system. A vulnerability in versions prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6 affects all Kirby sites with user accounts (unless Kirby's API and Panel are disabled in the config). It can only be abused…

more

if a Kirby user is logged in on a device or browser that is shared with potentially untrusted users or if an attacker already maliciously used a previous password to log in to a Kirby site as the affected user. Insufficient Session Expiration is when a web site permits an attacker to reuse old session credentials or session IDs for authorization. In the variation described in this advisory, it allows attackers to stay logged in to a Kirby site on another device even if the logged in user has since changed their password. Kirby did not invalidate user sessions that were created with a password that was since changed by the user or by a site admin. If a user changed their password to lock out an attacker who was already in possession of the previous password or of a login session on another device or browser, the attacker would not be reliably prevented from accessing the Kirby site as the affected user. The problem has been patched in Kirby 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6. In all of the mentioned releases, the maintainers have updated the authentication implementation to keep track of the hashed password in each active session. If the password changed since the login, the session is invalidated. To enforce this fix even if the vulnerability was previously abused, all users are logged out from the Kirby site after updating to one of the patched releases.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1185 Browser Session Hijacking Collection
Adversaries may take advantage of security vulnerabilities and inherent functionality in browser software to change content, modify user-behaviors, and intercept information as part of various browser session hijacking techniques.
T1550 Use Alternate Authentication Material Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use alternate authentication material, such as password hashes, Kerberos tickets, and application access tokens, in order to move laterally within an environment and bypass normal system access controls.
T1550.004 Web Session Cookie Lateral Movement
Adversaries can use stolen session cookies to authenticate to web applications and services.
T1563 Remote Service Session Hijacking Lateral Movement
Adversaries may take control of preexisting sessions with remote services to move laterally in an environment.
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-27087Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2025-65012Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2023-38491Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2024-26481Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2024-26484Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2024-26482Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-32870Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2025-30159Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-34587Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-29905Same product: Getkirby Kirby

Affected Assets

getkirby
kirby
3.5.0 — 3.5.8.3 · 3.6.0 — 3.6.6.3 · 3.7.0 — 3.7.5.2

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 mostly match
prevents

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

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

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

PR.AA-03 partial match
prevents

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

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.

none

Automatic termination of inactive sessions and limits on connection duration shrink the window during which a hijacked or unattended authenticated session can be exploited.

References