CVE-2023-6837 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.5) CWE-863 vulnerability in org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework. A fix is available for org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Multiple WSO2 products vulnerable to perform user impersonatoin using JIT provisioning
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-2023-6837 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
org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework☕org.wso2.identity.apps:authentication-portalReal-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
Multiple WSO2 products have been identified as vulnerable to perform user impersonatoin using JIT provisioning. In order for this vulnerability to have any impact on your deployment, following conditions must be met:
- An IDP configured for federated authentication and JIT provisioning enabled with the "Prompt for username, password and consent" option.
- A service provider that uses the above IDP for federated authentication and has the "Assert identity using mapped local subject identifier" flag enabled.
Attacker should have:
- A fresh valid user account in the federated IDP that has not been used earlier.
- Knowledge of the username of a valid user in the local IDP.
When all preconditions are met, a malicious actor could use JIT provisioning flow to perform user impersonation.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework | all versions | 5.20.254org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework:5.20.254 |
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.identity.apps:authentication-portal | all versions | 1.6.179.1org.wso2.identity.apps:authentication-portal:1.6.179.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.wso2.carbon.identity.framework:org.wso2.carbon.identity.application.authentication.framework to 5.20.254 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-6837 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-2023-6837 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-6837. 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-2023-6837 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-6837 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.