CVE-2023-37897 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) CWE-74 vulnerability in getgrav/grav. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for getgrav/grav — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Server-side Template Injection (SSTI) in grav
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.
- 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-2023-37897.
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-2023-37897 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
getgrav/gravReal-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
Summary
The fix for SSTI using |map, |filter and |reduce twigs implemented in the commit 71bbed1 introduces bypass of the denylist due to incorrect return value from isDangerousFunction(), which allows to execute the payload prepending double backslash (\\)
Details
The isDangerousFunction() check in version 1.7.42 and onwards retuns false value instead of true when the \ symbol is found in the $name.
...
if (strpos($name, "\\") !== false) {
return false;
}
if (in_array($name, $commandExecutionFunctions)) {
return true;
}
...
Based on the code where the function is used, it is expected that any dangerous condition would return true
/**
* @param Environment $env
* @param array $array
* @param callable|string $arrow
* @return array|CallbackFilterIterator
* @throws RuntimeError
*/
function mapFunc(Environment $env, $array, $arrow)
{
if (!$arrow instanceof \Closure && !is_string($arrow) || Utils::isDangerousFunction($arrow)) {
throw new RuntimeError('Twig |map("' . $arrow . '") is not allowed.');
}
when |map('\system') is used in the malicious payload, the single backslash is dropped prior to reaching strpos($name, '\\') check, thus $name variable already has no backslash, and the command is blacklisted because it reaches the if (in_array($name, $commandExecutionFunctions)) { validation step.
However if |map('\\system') is used (i.e. double backslash), then the strpos($name, "\\") !== false takes effect, and isDangerousFunction() returns false , in which case the RuntimeError is not generated, and blacklist is bypassed leading to code execution.
Exploit Conditions
This vulnerability can be exploited if the attacker has access to:
- an Administrator account, or
- a non-administrator, user account that has Admin panel access and Create/Update page permissions
Steps to reproduce
- Log in to Grav Admin using an administrator account.
- Navigate to
Accounts > Add, and ensure that the following permissions are assigned when creating a new low-privileged user:- Login to Admin - Allowed
- Page Update - Allowed
- Log out of Grav Admin
- Login using the account created in step 2.
- Choose
Pages -> Home - Click the
Advancedtab and select the checkbox besideTwigto ensure that Twig processing is enabled for the modified webpage. - Under the
Contenttab, insert the following payload within the editor:{{ ['id'] | map('\\system') | join() }} - Click the
Previewbutton. Observe that the output of the id shell command is returned in the preview.
Mitigation
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php
index 2f121bbe3..7b267cd0f 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php
@@ -2069,7 +2069,7 @@ abstract class Utils
}
if (strpos($name, "\\") !== false) {
- return false;
+ return true;
}
if (in_array($name, $commandExecutionFunctions)) {
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | getgrav/grav | all versions | 1.7.42.2composer require getgrav/grav:^1.7.42.2 |
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 getgrav/grav, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update getgrav/grav to 1.7.42.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-37897 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-2023-37897 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-37897. 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-2023-37897 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-37897 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.