CVE-2023-50291 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-522 vulnerability in org.apache.solr:solr-core. A fix is available for org.apache.solr:solr-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Solr: System Property redaction logic inconsistency can lead to leaked passwords
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-2023-50291.
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-2023-50291 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 378,567 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
org.apache.solr:solr-core☕org.apache.solr:solr-coreReal-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
Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability in Apache Solr.
This issue affects Apache Solr from 6.0.0 through 8.11.2, from 9.0.0 before 9.3.0. One of the two endpoints that publishes the Solr process' Java system properties, /admin/info/properties, was only setup to hide system properties that had "password" contained in the name. There are a number of sensitive system properties, such as "basicauth" and "aws.secretKey" do not contain "password", thus their values were published via the "/admin/info/properties" endpoint. This endpoint populates the list of System Properties on the home screen of the Solr Admin page, making the exposed credentials visible in the UI.
This /admin/info/properties endpoint is protected under the "config-read" permission. Therefore, Solr Clouds with Authorization enabled will only be vulnerable through logged-in users that have the "config-read" permission. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 9.3.0 or 8.11.3, both of which fix the issue. A single option now controls hiding Java system property for all endpoints, "-Dsolr.hiddenSysProps". By default all known sensitive properties are hidden (including "-Dbasicauth"), as well as any property with a name containing "secret" or "password".
Users who cannot upgrade can also use the following Java system property to fix the issue:
-Dsolr.redaction.system.pattern=.*(password|secret|basicauth).*
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.solr:solr-core | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 8.11.3 | 8.11.3org.apache.solr:solr-core:8.11.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.solr:solr-core | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.3.0 | 9.3.0org.apache.solr:solr-core:9.3.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.solr:solr-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.solr:solr-core to 8.11.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-50291 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-2023-50291 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-50291. 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-2023-50291 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-50291 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.