CVE-2023-27474 is a high-severity (CVSS 8) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in directus. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2023-27474 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
HTML Injection in Password Reset email to custom Reset URL in directus
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
directusnpmDescription
Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Instances relying on an allow-listed reset URL are vulnerable to an HTML injection attack through the use of query parameters in the reset URL. An attacker could exploit this to email users urls to the servers domain but which may contain malicious code. The problem has been resolved and released under version 9.23.0. People relying on a custom password reset URL should upgrade to 9.23.0 or later, or remove the custom reset url from the configured allow list. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may disable the custom reset URL allow list as a workaround.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | directus | all versions | 9.23.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for directus. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update directus to 9.23.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-27474 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2023-27474 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2023-27474. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-27474 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-27474 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.