CVE-2023-22463 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability in github.com/KubeOperator/kubepi. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/KubeOperator/kubepi — see the affected versions and patch details below.
KubePi's Hardcoded Jwtsigkeys allows malicious actor to login with a forged JWT token
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-22463.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-22463 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 376,715 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/KubeOperator/kubepiReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
KubePi is a k8s panel. The jwt authentication function of KubePi through version 1.6.2 uses hard-coded Jwtsigkeys, resulting in the same Jwtsigkeys for all online projects. This means that an attacker can forge any jwt token to take over the administrator account of any online project. Furthermore, they may use the administrator to take over the k8s cluster of the target enterprise. session.go, the use of hard-coded JwtSigKey, allows an attacker to use this value to forge jwt tokens arbitrarily. The JwtSigKey is confidential and should not be hard-coded in the code. The vulnerability has been fixed in 1.6.3. In the patch, JWT key is specified in app.yml. If the user leaves it blank, a random key will be used. There are no workarounds aside from upgrading.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/KubeOperator/kubepi | all versions | 1.6.3go get github.com/KubeOperator/kubepi@v1.6.3 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/KubeOperator/kubepi, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/KubeOperator/kubepi to 1.6.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-22463 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-22463 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-22463. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2023-22463
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2023-22463 -u https://target- Template
- KubePi JwtSigKey - Admin Authentication Bypass
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access and control of the Kubernetes cluster.
- Remediation
- The vulnerability has been fixed in 1.6.3. In the patch, JWT key is specified in app.yml. If the user leaves it blank, a random key will be used. There are no workarounds aside from upgrading.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (DhiyaneshDK), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-22463 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-22463 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.