Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-40299

Konghq Insomnia 2023.4.0

Public PoC
Published
04 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0035 28th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-40299 is a high-severity Process Control (CWE-114) vulnerability in Konghq Insomnia. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Shared Modules (T1129); ranked at the 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Kong Insomnia 2023.4.0 on macOS allows attackers to execute code and access restricted files, or make requests for TCC permissions, by using the DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES environment variable.

CWE(s)
NVD-CWE-noinfoCWE-114

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1129 Shared Modules Execution
Adversaries may execute malicious payloads via loading shared modules.
attack.mitre.org →
T1505.005 Terminal Services DLL Persistence
Adversaries may abuse components of Terminal Services to enable persistent access to systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574 Hijack Execution Flow Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the way operating systems run programs.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.001 DLL Stealth
Adversaries may abuse dynamic-link library files (DLLs) in order to achieve persistence, escalate privileges, and evade defenses.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.004 Dylib Hijacking Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own payloads by placing a malicious dynamic library (dylib) with an expected name in a path a victim application searches at runtime.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.006 Dynamic Linker Hijacking Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables the dynamic linker uses to load shared libraries.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-44168Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-56346Shared CWE-114
CVE-2025-46370Shared CWE-114
CVE-2025-1950Shared CWE-114
CVE-2025-23385Shared CWE-114
CVE-2024-32004Shared CWE-114
CVE-2024-25021Shared CWE-114
CVE-2024-56347Shared CWE-114
CVE-2023-4487Shared CWE-114
CVE-2025-36251Shared CWE-114

Affected Assets

konghq
insomnia
2023.4.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

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Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 8 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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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-05 mostly match
prevents

Explicitly prevents execution of unauthorized software, directly blocking untrusted commands or libraries.

ID.RA-09 partial match
prevents

Assessing authenticity/integrity before acquisition reduces use of untrusted sources for commands/libraries.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can enforce trusted paths and execution policies.

PR.PS-06 partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices can embed checks against dynamic loading from untrusted sources.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect unsafe process or library loading but does not prevent it by itself.

A.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
prevents

Restricting software installation prevents loading untrusted libraries or executing commands from unknown sources.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
mitigates

Secure development lifecycle practices include controls on external code and command execution paths.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of external inputs and libraries.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage reliance on untrusted external processes or libraries.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid executing or loading code from untrusted sources.

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` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (3 rules)
  • V-248568 OL 8 system commands must be owned by root. prevents CWE-114
  • V-248567 OL 8 system commands must have mode 755 or less permissive. prevents CWE-114
  • V-248569 OL 8 system commands must be group-owned by root or a system account. prevents CWE-114
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220828 The default autorun behavior must be configured to prevent autorun commands. prevents CWE-114
Windows 11 (1 rule)
  • V-253387 The default autorun behavior must be configured to prevent autorun commands. prevents CWE-114
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
  • V-224933 The default AutoRun behavior must be configured to prevent AutoRun commands. prevents CWE-114
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
  • V-205805 Windows Server 2019 default AutoRun behavior must be configured to prevent AutoRun commands. prevents CWE-114
Windows Server 2022 (1 rule)
  • V-254353 Windows Server 2022 default AutoRun behavior must be configured to prevent AutoRun commands. prevents CWE-114

References