CVE-2023-22893 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.2) Improper Authentication vulnerability in @strapi/plugin-users-permissions. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for @strapi/plugin-users-permissions — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Strapi does not verify the access or ID tokens issued during the OAuth flow
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-22893.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
@strapi/plugin-users-permissionsnpmDescription
Strapi 3.2.1 until 4.6.0 does not verify the access or ID tokens issued during the OAuth flow when the AWS Cognito login provider is used for authentication. A remote attacker could forge an ID token that is signed using the 'None' type algorithm to bypass authentication and impersonate any user that use AWS Cognito for authentication.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @strapi/plugin-users-permissions | ≥ 3.2.1&&< 4.6.0 | 4.6.0npm install @strapi/plugin-users-permissions@4.6.0 |
Affected Products
strapistrapiResearch 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 @strapi/plugin-users-permissions, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @strapi/plugin-users-permissions to 4.6.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-22893 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
How to detect CVE-2023-22893
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2023-22893 -u https://target- Template
- Strapi Versions <=4.5.6 - Authentication Bypass
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- Unauthenticated attackers can forge JWT tokens using the "None" algorithm to bypass AWS Cognito authentication and impersonate any Strapi user, gaining unauthorized access to CMS content and administrative functions.
- Remediation
- Update Strapi to version 4.5.6 or later which properly verifies access and ID tokens issued during OAuth flow with AWS Cognito login provider.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (iamnoooob, rootxharsh, pdresearch), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-22893 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.