Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-42451

Joinmastodon Mastodon ≤ 3.5.14

Published
19 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0057 44th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-42451 is a high-severity Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference (CWE-706) vulnerability in Joinmastodon Mastodon. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 44th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to versions 3.5.14, 4.0.10, 4.1.8, and 4.2.0-rc2, under certain circumstances, attackers can exploit a flaw in domain name normalization to spoof domains they do not own. Versions 3.5.14,…

more

4.0.10, 4.1.8, and 4.2.0-rc2 contain a patch for this issue.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
T1574.008 Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the search order used to load other programs.
T1036 Masquerading Stealth
Adversaries may attempt to manipulate features of their artifacts to make them appear legitimate or benign to users and/or security tools.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-23832Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2024-34535Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2023-42450Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2024-25619Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2023-42452Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2026-25540Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2023-36461Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2025-62605Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2026-33868Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon
CVE-2024-25623Same product: Joinmastodon Mastodon

Affected Assets

joinmastodon
mastodon
4.2.0 · ≤ 3.5.14 · 4.0.0 — 4.0.10 · 4.1.0 — 4.1.8

Mitigating Controls

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-development practices directly prevent incorrect name/reference resolution bugs during coding.

PR.AA-05 partial match
prevents

Enforced authorization boundaries limit damage from an incorrectly resolved reference.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Logical segmentation and access controls reduce the chance an out-of-sphere resolution succeeds.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can constrain allowable name-to-resource mappings.

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

Security testing can detect incorrect name or reference resolution through fuzzing and negative test cases.

degrades

Network segmentation and routing policies reduce the chance that a mis-resolved name leads to an unintended external resource.

degrades

Segregated networks limit the blast radius when a name or reference resolves outside the intended control sphere.

prevents

Secure SDLC practices include design reviews that can catch incorrect name or reference handling before deployment.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of all external references and names used at runtime.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage reliance on ambient or globally-resolvable names without explicit scoping.

References