Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-28254

RCE in Open-Metadata Openmetadata ≤ 1.2.4

Published
15 March 2024
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / 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 0.46 99th percentile
Risk Priority 87 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-28254 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Open-Metadata Openmetadata. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and 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.

OpenMetadata, a metadata platform for data discovery and governance, contains a critical expression language injection flaw in the AlertUtil::validateExpression method. The method invokes getValue on a user-supplied SpEL expression using the default StandardEvaluationContext, which permits direct access to classes such as java.lang.Runtime. The affected REST endpoint /api/v1/events/subscriptions/validation/condition/<expression> accepts attacker-controlled input and passes it directly to this method.

Any authenticated non-admin user can therefore submit a crafted expression that results in arbitrary operating-system command execution. The path lacks an authorization check—Authorizer.authorize() is never invoked—allowing any logged-in account to reach the vulnerable code and obtain full remote code execution on the underlying host.

The vulnerability is tracked as GHSL-2023-235 and was fixed in OpenMetadata 1.2.4; the project advisory states that users must upgrade and that no workarounds exist.

EPSS scores rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.6187 (current value 0.5394), indicating that exploitation interest increased measurably after public disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OpenMetadata is a unified platform for discovery, observability, and governance powered by a central metadata repository, in-depth lineage, and seamless team collaboration. The `‎AlertUtil::validateExpression` method evaluates an SpEL expression using `getValue` which by default uses the `StandardEvaluationContext`, allowing the expression…

more

to reach and interact with Java classes such as `java.lang.Runtime`, leading to Remote Code Execution. The `/api/v1/events/subscriptions/validation/condition/<expression>` endpoint passes user-controlled data `AlertUtil::validateExpession` allowing authenticated (non-admin) users to execute arbitrary system commands on the underlaying operating system. In addition, there is a missing authorization check since `Authorizer.authorize()` is never called in the affected path and, therefore, any authenticated non-admin user is able to trigger this endpoint and evaluate arbitrary SpEL expressions leading to arbitrary command execution. This vulnerability was discovered with the help of CodeQL's Expression language injection (Spring) query and is also tracked as `GHSL-2023-235`. This issue may lead to Remote Code Execution and has been addressed in version 1.2.4. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
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-2024-28847Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2024-28848Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2024-28253Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2026-22244Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2025-50467Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2025-50466Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2025-50468Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2025-50465Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2024-55238Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata
CVE-2024-28255Same product: Open-Metadata Openmetadata

Affected Assets

open-metadata
openmetadata
≤ 1.2.4

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
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

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

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
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References