CVE-2023-25957
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication in Mendix SAML modules by exploiting insufficient verification of SAML assertions. Affected organizations are those using vulnerable versions of Mendix SAML modules across Mendix 7, 8, and 9 platforms. The vulnerability enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to applications without valid credentials.
💻 Affected Systems
- Mendix SAML (Mendix 7 compatible)
- Mendix SAML (Mendix 8 compatible)
- Mendix SAML (Mendix 9 latest compatible, New Track)
- Mendix SAML (Mendix 9 latest compatible, Upgrade Track)
- Mendix SAML (Mendix 9.6 compatible, New Track)
- Mendix SAML (Mendix 9.6 compatible, Upgrade Track)
📦 What is this software?
Saml by Mendix
Saml by Mendix
Saml by Mendix
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of affected Mendix applications, allowing attackers to access sensitive data, modify application functionality, or pivot to internal networks.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to business applications, potential data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within affected systems.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation, monitoring, and the 'Use Encryption' configuration are enabled.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending specially crafted SAML assertions to bypass authentication checks. No authentication is required for exploitation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Mendix 7: V1.17.3; Mendix 8: V2.3.0; Mendix 9 latest: V3.3.1 (New Track), V3.3.0 (Upgrade Track); Mendix 9.6: V3.2.7 (New Track), V3.2.6 (Upgrade Track)
Vendor Advisory: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-851884.pdf
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Identify affected Mendix SAML module versions. 2. Update to patched versions according to your Mendix platform. 3. Restart Mendix applications. 4. Ensure 'Use Encryption' configuration is enabled for complete protection.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enable SAML Encryption
allEnable the 'Use Encryption' configuration option in Mendix SAML module settings to mitigate the vulnerability.
Navigate to Mendix SAML module configuration
Set 'Use Encryption' option to enabled
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Enable 'Use Encryption' configuration option in all Mendix SAML modules
- Implement network-level controls to restrict access to affected applications
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Mendix SAML module version in Mendix Modeler or runtime environment against affected version ranges.Check Version:
Check Mendix SAML module version in Mendix Modeler or application configuration files.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Mendix SAML module version is updated to patched version and 'Use Encryption' configuration is enabled.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual authentication patterns
- SAML assertion failures
- Authentication bypass attempts
Network Indicators:
- Unencrypted SAML traffic to Mendix applications
- Suspicious authentication requests
SIEM Query:
Search for authentication events from unencrypted SAML sources or failed SAML validation attempts.