CVE-2023-54342

CriticalPublic PoC

Published: 05 May 2026

Published

05 May 2026

Modified

05 May 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0025 48.6th percentile

Risk Priority 20 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2023-54342 is a critical-severity Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 48.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 CM-7 (Least Functionality) and SC-7 (Boundary Protection).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190) and 1 other technique. What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

Directly remediates the RCE vulnerability in Eclipse Equinox OSGi versions 3.8 through 3.18 by applying vendor patches or upgrading to unaffected versions.

SC-7 Boundary Protection good match

prevent

Prevents remote attackers from reaching the vulnerable OSGi telnet console by monitoring and controlling communications at system boundaries, such as blocking telnet traffic.

CM-7 Least Functionality good match

prevent

Eliminates the unauthenticated fork command attack surface by disabling the non-essential OSGi console interface.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

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 →

T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution

Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Direct unauthenticated RCE via exposed public console (T1190); enables arbitrary command execution including reverse shells via Unix shell (T1059.004).

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

NVD Description

Eclipse Equinox OSGi versions 3.8 through 3.18 contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the console interface that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting the fork command functionality. Attackers can establish a telnet connection to the OSGi…

console, perform a telnet handshake, and send fork commands to download and execute malicious Java code, establishing a reverse shell connection.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2023-54342 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the console interface of Eclipse Equinox OSGi versions 3.8 through 3.18. The flaw stems from the fork command functionality, which allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function).

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability by establishing a telnet connection to the exposed OSGi console, completing the telnet handshake, and issuing fork commands. This enables them to download and execute malicious Java code, such as establishing a reverse shell, with low attack complexity and no privileges or user interaction required.

Advisories and related resources, including the Vulncheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/eclipse-equinox-osgi-console-remote-code-execution and a proof-of-concept exploit at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/51878, provide further details on exploitation and potential mitigations.