Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2024-38353 is a medium-severity PRNG (CWE-338) vulnerability in Hackmd Codimd. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 36% 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 AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — 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.
CodiMD before version 2.5.4 contains a missing authentication and access control vulnerability that allows unauthenticated access to uploaded image data. The application does not require valid credentials to retrieve or upload images, and the underlying Formidable library uses insecure random filename generation that increases the chance an attacker can predict image URLs. The issue is tracked under CWE-338 and CWE-862 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3.
An unauthenticated attacker who can guess or enumerate an image URL can retrieve the corresponding uploaded content without authorization. Because no authentication check is performed on image endpoints, the same weakness also permits arbitrary image uploads, exposing any previously stored image data once its filename is known.
The vulnerability is resolved in CodiMD 2.5.4, as stated in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-2764-jppc-p2hm. The EPSS score remains flat at 0.0532 with no material increase after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-37276
Vulnerability Data
CodiMD allows realtime collaborative markdown notes on all platforms. CodiMD before 2.5.4 is missing authentication and access control vulnerability allowing an unauthenticated attacker to gain unauthorised access to image data uploaded to CodiMD. CodiMD does not require valid authentication to…
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access uploaded images or to upload new image data. An attacker who can determine an uploaded image's URL can gain unauthorised access to uploaded image data. Due to the insecure random filename generation in the underlying Formidable library, an attacker can determine the filenames for previously uploaded images and the likelihood of this issue being exploited is increased. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.5.4.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 8 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
V7.2.3V11.5.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
AC-3 directly requires enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally eliminating missing authorization checks.
Requiring specific approved cryptography for protection directly mandates use of strong PRNGs instead of weak ones.
AC-24 mandates that access control decisions are applied to each request, preventing bypass of authorization logic.
AC-25 requires a tamperproof, always-invoked reference monitor that ensures authorization checks cannot be omitted.
AC-6 reduces the set of actions reachable without proper authorization, limiting blast radius of missing checks.
Engineering principles applied during design and development include selection of cryptographically strong random number generation.
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.
Explicitly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing authorizations and least privilege, directly preventing missing authorization checks.
Secure SDLC practices explicitly require cryptographically strong RNG selection and usage in security contexts.
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.
Mandates use of approved cryptographic controls, directly requiring cryptographically strong RNGs.
Security testing can detect use of weak random number generators.
Requiring authentication and credentials before any access occurs eliminates the absence of authorization checks that would otherwise allow an unauthenticated actor to reach protected resources.
Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.
Mandatory authorization checks and central records of granted rights ensure that every access attempt is preceded by an explicit decision rather than relying on missing checks.
Segregating the approval of access rights from their implementation provides an independent check that reduces the impact of missing authorization checks in the resulting system configuration.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (3 rules)
- V-248563 The OL 8 SSH server must be configured to use strong entropy. prevents CWE-338
- V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
- V-251704 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-204429 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230253 RHEL 8 must ensure the SSH server uses strong entropy. prevents CWE-338
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
- V-260650 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography to protect classified information and for the following: To provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect unclassified information requiring confidentiality and cryptographic protection in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. prevents CWE-338