Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-51653

Apache Hertzbeat ≤ 1.4.1

Public PoC
Published
22 February 2024
Modified
16 January 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.021 80th percentile
Risk Priority 78 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-51653 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Apache Hertzbeat. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 20% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

Hertzbeat is a real-time monitoring system affected by CVE-2023-51653, a JNDI injection vulnerability in the JMX collection logic implemented in JmxCollectImpl.java. The flaw resides in the handling of JMXConnectorFactory.connect calls exposed through the /api/monitor/detect endpoint; when a URL field is supplied, the provided address is used directly, allowing values such as service:jmx:rmi:///jndi/rmi://xxxxxxx:1099/localHikari to trigger remote code execution. The issue is tracked under CWE-74 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8.

An unauthenticated network attacker can exploit the vulnerability by submitting a crafted JMX service URL to the detection interface, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the Hertzbeat server with no required credentials or user interaction.

The associated GitHub security advisory GHSA-gcmp-vf6v-59gg and the referenced commit document that the flaw is resolved in version 1.4.1. The EPSS score remains low, with a modest peak of 0.0594 that has since declined, indicating limited observed exploitation interest.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Hertzbeat is a real-time monitoring system. In the implementation of `JmxCollectImpl.java`, `JMXConnectorFactory.connect` is vulnerable to JNDI injection. The corresponding interface is `/api/monitor/detect`. If there is a URL field, the address will be used by default. When the URL is `service:jmx:rmi:///jndi/rmi://xxxxxxx:1099/localHikari`,…

more

it can be exploited to cause remote code execution. Version 1.4.1 contains a fix for this issue.

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.
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
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,…
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-51388Same product: Apache Hertzbeat
CVE-2024-21742Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-33234Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-43667Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-25141Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-25613Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-36522Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-41834Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2021-38294Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2020-13942Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
hertzbeat
≤ 1.4.1

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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 directly requires validation of information inputs to reject malformed or special-element content before it reaches downstream parsers.

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.

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.

finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

prevents

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

prevents

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

prevents

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

References