CVE-2023-41887 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) SQL Injection vulnerability in org.openrefine:database. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.openrefine:database — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Remote Code exec in project import with mysql jdbc url attack
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-2023-41887.
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-2023-41887 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 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.openrefine:databaseReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
An remote Code exec vulnerability allows any unauthenticated user to exec code on the server.
Details
Hi,Team,
i find openrefine support to import data from database,When use mysql jdbc to connect to database,It is vulnerable to jdbc url attacks,for example,unauthenticated attacker can get rce on the server through the mysql userializable If the mysql-connector-java version used on the server side is less than 8.20.
In order for the server to enable deserialization we need to set the autoDeserialize and queryInterceptors parameters in the connection string,As same with https://github.com/OpenRefine/OpenRefine/security/advisories/GHSA-qqh2-wvmv-h72m, since the concatenation string is a direct concatenation, it is possible to inject the required parameters after the other parameters.
And there is a commons-beanutils dependency library on the server side, which contains an RCE-capable deserialization exploit chain
PoC
env:
centos 7
openrefine 3.7.4
jdk11
mysql-connector-java version 8.14.0
you can use the tool https://github.com/4ra1n/mysql-fake-server to running a malicious mysql server.
for example use the CB 1.9 Gadget to exec command touch /tmp/hacked.
set the user to base64ZGVzZXJfQ0JfdG91Y2ggL3RtcC9oYWNrZWQ=(touch /tmp/hacked base64 encode),dataBaseName to test?autoDeserialize=true&queryInterceptors=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.interceptors.ServerStatusDiffInterceptor#.
command touch /tmp/hacked is executed.
Impact
An remote Code exec vulnerability allows any unauthenticated user to exec code on the server.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.openrefine:database | all versions | 3.7.5org.openrefine:database:3.7.5 |
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 org.openrefine:database, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.openrefine:database to 3.7.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-41887 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-2023-41887 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-41887. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-41887 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-41887 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.