CVE-2023-28438 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.2) SQL Injection vulnerability in pimcore/pimcore. A fix is available for pimcore/pimcore — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Pimcore vulnerable to improper quoting of filters in Custom Reports
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-2023-28438.
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-2023-28438 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
pimcore/pimcoreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
Since a user with 'report' permission can already write arbitrary SQL queries and given the fact that this endpoint is using the GET method (no CSRF protection), an attacker can inject an arbitrary query by manipulating a user to click on a link.
The impact of this path traversal and arbitrary extension is limited (creation of arbitrary files and appending data to existing files) but when combined with the SQL Injection, the exported data can be controlled and a webshell can be uploaded. Attackers can use that to execute arbitrary PHP code on the server with the permissions of the webserver.
Patches
Update to version 10.5.19 or apply these patch manually https://github.com/pimcore/pimcore/commit/d1abadb181c88ebaa4bce1916f9077469d4ea2bc.patch https://github.com/pimcore/pimcore/commit/7f788fa44bc18bc1c9182c25e26b770a1d30b62f.patch
Workarounds
Apply patches manually: https://github.com/pimcore/pimcore/commit/d1abadb181c88ebaa4bce1916f9077469d4ea2bc.patch https://github.com/pimcore/pimcore/commit/7f788fa44bc18bc1c9182c25e26b770a1d30b62f.patch
References
#14526 #14498
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | pimcore/pimcore | all versions | 10.5.19composer require pimcore/pimcore:^10.5.19 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pimcore/pimcore, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pimcore/pimcore to 10.5.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-28438 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-2023-28438 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-28438. 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-2023-28438 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-28438 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.