CVE-2024-28253 — openmetadata-service
CRITICALCVE-2024-28253 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.4) Code Injection vulnerability in org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service — see the affected versions and patch details below.
SpEL Injection in `PUT /api/v1/policies` in OpenMetadata
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.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2024-28253.
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-2024-28253 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 377,166 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.open-metadata:openmetadata-serviceReal-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
OpenMetadata is a unified platform for discovery, observability, and governance powered by a central metadata repository, in-depth lineage, and seamless team collaboration. CompiledRule::validateExpression is also called from PolicyRepository.prepare. prepare() is called from EntityRepository.prepareInternal() which, in turn, gets called from EntityResource.createOrUpdate(). Note that even though there is an authorization check (authorizer.authorize()), it gets called after prepareInternal() gets called and therefore after the SpEL expression has been evaluated. In order to reach this method, an attacker can send a PUT request to /api/v1/policies which gets handled by PolicyResource.createOrUpdate(). This vulnerability was discovered with the help of CodeQL's Expression language injection (Spring) query and is also tracked as GHSL-2023-252. This issue may lead to Remote Code Execution and has been addressed in version 1.3.1. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service | all versions | 1.3.1org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service:1.3.1 |
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.open-metadata:openmetadata-service, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.open-metadata:openmetadata-service to 1.3.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-28253 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-2024-28253 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-28253. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2024-28253
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2024-28253 -u https://target- Template
- OpenMetaData - SpEL Injection in PUT /api/v1/policies
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Attackers can execute arbitrary code remotely, potentially leading to full system compromise.
- Remediation
- Upgrade to version 1.3.1 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (daffainfo), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-28253 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-28253 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.