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
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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 |
Affected Products
api managerwso2carbon identity application authentication endpointwso2carbon identity application authentication frameworkwso2identity serverwso2identity server as key managerwso2Detection & 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
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-6837 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.