Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-49964

Hyland Alfresco Content Services ≤ 7.2.0

Published
11 December 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
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:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.35 98th percentile
Risk Priority 81 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-49964 is a high-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Hyland Alfresco Content Services. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 2% 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-2023-49964 is a server-side template injection vulnerability in Hyland Alfresco Community Edition through version 7.2.0. The flaw resides in the folder.get.html.ftl template and stems from an incomplete remediation of CVE-2020-12873; an attacker who can insert malicious FreeMarker content can access exposed objects, bypass existing restrictions, and obtain remote code execution. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 and is classified under CWE-74.

An authenticated user with the ability to modify folder templates can exploit the vulnerability over the network without user interaction. Successful exploitation grants the attacker full control over the application server, including the capacity to execute arbitrary commands and access sensitive data.

Public references point to the Alfresco Community Edition download page for updated builds and to a GitHub repository containing technical details of the issue. Administrators are advised to obtain the latest available packages from the vendor site and to review template-handling configurations.

The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0568 with no material increase since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An issue was discovered in Hyland Alfresco Community Edition through 7.2.0. By inserting malicious content in the folder.get.html.ftl file, an attacker may perform SSTI (Server-Side Template Injection) attacks, which can leverage FreeMarker exposed objects to bypass restrictions and achieve RCE…

more

(Remote Code Execution). NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-12873.

CWE(s)
CWE-74

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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1674 Input Injection Execution
Adversaries may simulate keystrokes on a victim’s computer by various means to perform any type of action on behalf of the user, such as launching the command interpreter using keyboard shortcuts, typing an inline script to be executed,…
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-27040Shared CWE-74
CVE-2026-6279Shared CWE-74
CVE-2025-27794Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-48205Shared CWE-74
CVE-2025-40710Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-43655Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-29827Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-29526Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-7039Shared CWE-74
CVE-2026-0972Shared CWE-74

Affected Assets

hyland
alfresco content services
≤ 7.2.0

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)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

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.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

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 require input validation and output encoding that prevent 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.

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

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection attacks in software design.

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

Secure architecture principles reduce injection surfaces but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

References