GHSA-r2hw-74xv-4gqp
HIGHNautobot vulnerable to exposure of hashed user passwords via REST API
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.
Blast Radius
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Description
Impact
In Nautobot 2.0.x, certain REST API endpoints, in combination with the ?depth=<N> query parameter, can expose hashed user passwords as stored in the database to any authenticated user with access to these endpoints.
The passwords are not exposed in plaintext. Nautobot 1.x is not affected by this vulnerability.
Example:
GET /api/users/permissions/?depth=1
HTTP 200 OK
API-Version: 2.0
Allow: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"count": 1,
"next": null,
"previous": null,
"results": [
{
"id": "28ea85e4-5039-4389-94f1-9a3e1c787149",
"object_type": "users.objectpermission",
"display": "Run Job",
"url": "http://localhost:8080/api/users/permissions/28ea85e4-5039-4389-94f1-9a3e1c787149/",
"natural_slug": "run-job_28ea",
"object_types": [
"extras.job"
],
"name": "Run Job",
"description": "",
"enabled": true,
"actions": [
"run",
"view"
],
"constraints": null,
"groups": [
{
"id": 1,
"object_type": "auth.group",
"display": "A Group",
"url": "http://localhost:8080/api/users/groups/1/",
"natural_slug": "a-group_1",
"name": "A Group"
}
],
"users": [
{
"id": "e73288e2-1326-4bfb-8fea-041290dd7473",
"object_type": "users.user",
"display": "admin",
"url": "http://localhost:8080/api/users/users/e73288e2-1326-4bfb-8fea-041290dd7473/",
"natural_slug": "admin_e732",
"password": "pbkdf2_sha256$260000$jQb7hA48HYJ0MLWQgOZiBl$b72+gz6SpZiRpxceRQfT5Zv/aUac0eJ4NdBTZ8ECOow=",
"last_login": "2023-10-18T14:19:08.780857Z",
"is_superuser": true,
"username": "admin",
"first_name": "",
"last_name": "",
"email": "",
"is_staff": true,
"is_active": true,
"date_joined": "2023-10-18T14:18:55.854023Z",
"config_data": {}
}
]
}
]
}
Note the "password" field present in the nested
"users"data.
This information is not exposed during direct access to the /api/users/users/ endpoint, but can be exposed through any endpoint which contains a nested reference to User object(s) when an appropriate ?depth=<N> query parameter is specified. Known impacted endpoints include:
/api/dcim/rack-reservations/?depth=1(or any greaterdepthvalue)/api/extras/job-results/?depth=1(or any greaterdepthvalue)/api/extras/notes/?depth=1(or any greaterdepthvalue)/api/extras/object-changes/?depth=1(or any greaterdepthvalue)/api/extras/scheduled-jobs/?depth=1(or any greaterdepthvalue)/api/users/permissions/?depth=1(or any greaterdepthvalue)
but this is not necessarily an exhaustive list.
Plugin REST API endpoints for any models with a foreign key to the User model may also be impacted by this issue.
The patch identified below mitigates the issue for both Nautobot core REST APIs and plugin REST APIs; no code change in plugins is required to address this issue.
Patches
Refer to https://github.com/nautobot/nautobot/pull/4692 for the patch that resolved this issue.
Workarounds
Upgrading to v2.0.3 or later, or applying the above patch, is the preferred workaround for this issue; while it could also be partially mitigated by updating permissions to deny user access to the above list of impacted REST API endpoints, that is not recommended as other endpoints may also expose this issue until patched.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | nautobot | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.0.3 | 2.0.3 |
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 nautobot. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update nautobot to 2.0.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r2hw-74xv-4gqp 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-r2hw-74xv-4gqp is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-r2hw-74xv-4gqp. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-r2hw-74xv-4gqp in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-r2hw-74xv-4gqp across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.