Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-40931

SQLi in Nagios Xi 5.11.0 – 5.11.2

Published
19 September 2023
Modified
09 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.5
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:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.11 96th percentile
Risk Priority 76 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-40931 is a medium-severity SQL Injection (CWE-89) vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-40931 is a SQL injection vulnerability affecting Nagios XI versions 5.11.0 through 5.11.1. It resides in the banner_message-ajaxhelper.php endpoint, where the ID parameter in an authenticated POST request is not properly sanitized, allowing arbitrary SQL commands to be executed under CWE-89.

An authenticated attacker with low-privileged network access can exploit the flaw without user interaction to extract sensitive data from the underlying database, corresponding to the CVSS 6.5 rating that emphasizes high confidentiality impact while leaving integrity and availability unaffected.

Public references point to Nagios product pages and an Outpost24 analysis for further details, though no explicit patch or mitigation guidance is supplied in the available information. The associated EPSS score has reached a current value of 0.8415 with a recorded peak of 0.8844, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A SQL injection vulnerability in Nagios XI from version 5.11.0 up to and including 5.11.1 allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the ID parameter in the POST request to /nagiosxi/admin/banner_message-ajaxhelper.php

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2018-8734Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2023-48084Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2023-40934Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2024-24401Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2023-40933Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2021-37350Same product: Nagios Nagios Xi
CVE-2023-50395Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2012-2576Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2016-4350Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2021-40493Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM

Affected Assets

nagios
nagios xi
5.11.0 — 5.11.2

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)
  • V6.2.5

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-89

Penetration testing uses SQL injection payloads against database interfaces, identifying and supporting fixes for SQL injection weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-89

Validates query inputs to prevent SQL syntax or command manipulation.

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

Secure SDLC practices directly target injection flaws during coding and review so largely prevent CWE-89 introduction, yet the single broad outcome leaves residual risk from incomplete neutralization techniques or missed edge cases.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Training raises developer awareness of SQLi risks and can reduce introduction likelihood (partial) but removes none of the actual coding flaw's risk by itself since technical neutralization is still required.

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.

finds

The same secure-coding and static-analysis activities surface missing neutralization of SQL metacharacters before the system is accepted.

prevents

Early warnings and shared best-practice information help organizations apply the latest remediation techniques against SQL-injection vulnerabilities.

prevents

Threat-intelligence feeds that surface new SQL-injection campaigns enable rapid updates to query-construction defenses and detection signatures before exploitation occurs.

prevents

Secure-coding rules and security testing phases mandate the use of parameterized queries or equivalent escaping, preventing the construction of dynamic SQL statements from untrusted input.

prevents

Language-specific secure coding rules, peer review and SAST together prevent the construction of SQL statements from untrusted data without proper parameterization or escaping.

References