Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-6568

XSS in Lfprojects Mlflow ≤ 2.9.0

Public PoCXSS
Published
07 December 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.017 75th percentile
Risk Priority 63 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-6568 is a medium-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Lfprojects Mlflow. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Browser Session Hijacking (T1185); ranked in the top 25% 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 Other ATLAS/OWASP Terms 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.

A reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-6568, affects the mlflow server component in the mlflow/mlflow repository. The flaw resides in mlflow/server/auth/__init__.py, where user-supplied values from the Content-Type header of POST requests are inserted directly into a Python formatted string and returned in responses without sanitization or escaping, enabling arbitrary JavaScript execution in the victim's browser. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 6.1 and is classified under CWE-79.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the vulnerability by crafting a POST request containing malicious JavaScript within the Content-Type header. When a victim interacts with the resulting response, the injected script executes in the context of the mlflow server origin, potentially allowing theft of session tokens, account takeover, or other actions within the victim's browser session.

Public references point to a fix committed in the mlflow repository at 28ff3f94994941e038f2172c6484b65dc4db6ca1, which addresses the unsafe header reflection. The associated huntr.dev bounty report provides additional details on the discovery and remediation.

The EPSS score for this CVE has remained flat at 0.3335 with no material increase observed after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the mlflow/mlflow repository, specifically within the handling of the Content-Type header in POST requests. An attacker can inject malicious JavaScript code into the Content-Type header, which is then improperly reflected back to…

more

the user without adequate sanitization or escaping, leading to arbitrary JavaScript execution in the context of the victim's browser. The vulnerability is present in the mlflow/server/auth/__init__.py file, where the user-supplied Content-Type header is directly injected into a Python formatted string and returned to the user, facilitating the XSS attack.

CWE(s)

AI Security AnalysisAI

AI Category
Other AI Platforms
Risk Domain
Other ATLAS/OWASP Terms
OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
None mapped
Classification Reason
MLflow is an open-source platform for managing the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle, including experimentation, reproducibility, and deployment of ML models.

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1185 Browser Session Hijacking Collection
Adversaries may take advantage of security vulnerabilities and inherent functionality in browser software to change content, modify user-behaviors, and intercept information as part of various browser session hijacking techniques.
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-46492Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-3685Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-6778Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-25837Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-22438Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-27614Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-47164Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-49145Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-47853Shared CWE-79
CVE-2023-28474Shared CWE-79

Affected Assets

lfprojects
mlflow
≤ 2.9.0

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)
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.3.2

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.

addresses: CWE-79

Penetration testing submits XSS payloads to web applications, detecting cross-site scripting flaws for subsequent remediation.

addresses: CWE-79

Validates web inputs to reject script-related content that could produce XSS.

addresses: CWE-79

Output validation against expected content can reject or sanitize script content in generated web pages, reducing XSS exploitability.

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 target introduction of XSS via coding standards/testing (mostly), yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors unaddressed (partial).

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching and EOL replacement can remediate known XSS instances in libraries or frameworks (partial) but do nothing to enforce input neutralization in application code (none).

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

Secure-coding testing and automated code-analysis tools are applied to detect improper neutralization of script-related content during web-page generation.

prevents

Knowledge exchange on emerging attack techniques and patches reduces the likelihood that cross-site scripting flaws remain unaddressed in deployed applications.

prevents

Operational indicators of compromise for web-application attacks can be incorporated into WAF or input-filtering rules, lowering the likelihood that unsanitized data reaches the browser.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure-coding standards and automated scanning during the SDLC catches missing output encoding or improper neutralization of untrusted data before the software reaches production.

prevents

Secure-coding standards, SAST scans and removal of insecure code samples together eliminate the failure to neutralize script content that produces cross-site scripting flaws.

none

Webpage malware scanning and block-listing of known malicious sites reduce the likelihood that reflected or stored script payloads reach a user’s browser.

References