CVE-2023-43187
Nodebb ≤ 1.18.6
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-43187 is a critical-severity aka Blind XPath Injection (CWE-91) vulnerability in Nodebb Nodebb. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Security Account Manager (T1003.002); ranked in the top 1% 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.
CVE-2023-43187 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the xmlrpc.php endpoint of NodeBB Inc NodeBB forum software prior to version 1.18.6. It arises from improper handling of XML-RPC input and is tracked under CWE-91, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 reflecting network-accessible, unauthenticated attack conditions that can result in full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit the flaw by submitting crafted XML-RPC requests to the exposed endpoint, enabling arbitrary code execution on the underlying server and potential full compromise of the forum installation.
The supplied references consist of GitHub repositories documenting the CVE without formal advisory or patch text; the version information in the CVE description indicates that upgrading to NodeBB 1.18.6 or later resolves the issue.
The associated EPSS values show a current score of 0.8770 against a recorded peak of 0.9011.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-47606
Vulnerability Data
A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the xmlrpc.php endpoint of NodeBB Inc NodeBB forum software prior to v1.18.6 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted XML-RPC requests.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
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.
Secure SDLC directly requires input neutralization and validation that eliminates XML injection flaws.
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.
Logging can record injection attempts for detection but does not prevent the weakness.
Monitoring can detect exploitation but provides no preventive control over XML handling.
A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices (secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing including code scans) that reach XML injection when developers follow them, but leaves a minority slice where implementation is incomplete or the outsourced supplier assurance fails.
A.8.26 requires identifying and specifying security requirements (including resilience against SQL injections and input validation) determined via risk assessment; this can address XML injection for some applications but leaves a bounded remainder where requirements are scoped narrowly, not fully enforced in code, or miss XML-specific neutralization.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles, secure architecture patterns (defense-in-depth, least privilege, distrust external input, fail securely), design reviews against known attack patterns, and data validation/sanitization guidance that reach a slice of XML injection cases, but leaves the dominant code-level neutralization defect untouched without further implementation-specific controls.