CVE-2023-27580
📋 TL;DR
CodeIgniter Shield versions before v1.0.0-beta.4 improperly store passwords by using SHA-384 hashing without salt before bcrypt, making password cracking significantly easier. This affects all systems using vulnerable Shield versions for authentication. Attackers who obtain hashed passwords can potentially crack user credentials.
💻 Affected Systems
- CodeIgniter Shield
📦 What is this software?
Shield by Codeigniter
Shield by Codeigniter
Shield by Codeigniter
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Mass credential compromise leading to full system takeover, data breaches, and lateral movement within affected applications.
Likely Case
Targeted password cracking of specific user accounts obtained through database leaks or other means.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if passwords are strong and other security controls like MFA, rate limiting, and monitoring are in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to hashed passwords from the database, which could be obtained through SQL injection, database breaches, or other means.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: v1.0.0-beta.4 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/security/advisories/GHSA-c5vj-f36q-p9vg
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Upgrade Shield to v1.0.0-beta.4 or later via Composer: composer require codeigniter4/shield:^1.0.0-beta.4
2. Force all users to reset passwords or implement password rehashing
3. Update all existing password hashes in the database
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
No workarounds available
allThe vulnerability is in the core password storage mechanism with no configuration-based workarounds.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Force immediate password reset for all users and implement account lockout policies
- Enable multi-factor authentication and monitor for suspicious authentication attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check composer.json or vendor/codeigniter4/shield/ for version below v1.0.0-beta.4Check Version:
composer show codeigniter4/shield | grep versionsVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Shield version is v1.0.0-beta.4 or higher and verify password hashes use proper bcrypt with salt📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts for same account
- Unusual authentication patterns
- Database access logs showing password table queries
Network Indicators:
- Brute force attack patterns against authentication endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="auth.log" ("failed login" OR "authentication failure") | stats count by user, src_ip | where count > 10🔗 References
- https://blog.ircmaxell.com/2015/03/security-issue-combining-bcrypt-with.html
- https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Password_Storage_Cheat_Sheet.html#pre-hashing-passwords
- https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/blob/develop/UPGRADING.md
- https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/commit/ea9688dd01d100193d834117dbfc2cfabcf9ea0b
- https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/security/advisories/GHSA-c5vj-f36q-p9vg
- https://www.scottbrady91.com/authentication/beware-of-password-shucking
- https://blog.ircmaxell.com/2015/03/security-issue-combining-bcrypt-with.html
- https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Password_Storage_Cheat_Sheet.html#pre-hashing-passwords
- https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/blob/develop/UPGRADING.md
- https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/commit/ea9688dd01d100193d834117dbfc2cfabcf9ea0b
- https://github.com/codeigniter4/shield/security/advisories/GHSA-c5vj-f36q-p9vg
- https://www.scottbrady91.com/authentication/beware-of-password-shucking
