Security Resilience

CVE-2023-6018

RCE in Lfprojects Mlflow

Public PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
16 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
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 0.48 99th percentile
Risk Priority 97 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-2023-6018 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Lfprojects Mlflow. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); 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.

This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as Other AI Platforms; in the Supply Chain and Deployment risk domain.

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-2023-6018 is an unauthenticated file overwrite vulnerability affecting the MLflow machine learning platform. The flaw, assigned CWE-78, permits remote attackers to replace arbitrary files on the host server and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 reflecting network-accessible, low-complexity exploitation with no required credentials or user interaction.

An attacker can send crafted requests directly to a publicly reachable MLflow instance and overwrite any file on the underlying server filesystem. Successful exploitation grants full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the MLflow deployment and any data or models it manages.

The current EPSS score of 0.9127, with a recorded peak of 0.9265, indicates sustained and elevated exploitation interest since disclosure. The issue is particularly relevant to AI/ML environments that rely on MLflow for experiment tracking and model management.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An attacker can overwrite any file on the server hosting MLflow without any authentication.

CWE(s)
CWE-78

AI Security AnalysisAI

AI Category
Other AI Platforms
Risk Domain
Supply Chain and Deployment
OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
None mapped
Classification Reason
MLflow is an open-source platform for managing the machine learning lifecycle, including experimentation, reproducibility, and deployment, fitting under 'Other Platforms' as it is not a framework, library, or specific AI sub-domain tool.

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-4033Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2026-0596Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2025-15379Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2025-14287Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2026-15069Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-63766Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-55410Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-73081Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-20266Shared CWE-78
CVE-2023-36670Shared CWE-78

Affected Assets

lfprojects
mlflow
all versions

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)
  • V1.2.5
  • 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.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

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
blocks

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References