CVE-2023-2946
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2023-2946 is an improper access control vulnerability in OpenEMR that allows unauthorized users to access sensitive patient data and administrative functions. This affects all OpenEMR installations prior to version 7.0.1, particularly healthcare organizations using the electronic medical records system.
💻 Affected Systems
- OpenEMR
📦 What is this software?
Openemr by Open Emr
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could access, modify, or delete sensitive patient health records, potentially leading to medical identity theft, privacy violations, and regulatory compliance failures.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to patient data, exposure of personal health information, and potential manipulation of medical records.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation, strong authentication, and monitoring in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires some level of access but is straightforward once initial access is obtained.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 7.0.1
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/openemr/openemr/commit/81832acc14207e577e76c4175967c99ae7e3d3f4
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your OpenEMR installation and database. 2. Download OpenEMR 7.0.1 or later from the official repository. 3. Replace the existing installation with the patched version. 4. Restart the web server and verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allRestrict access to OpenEMR to authorized networks only
Enhanced Authentication
allImplement multi-factor authentication and strong password policies
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit who can reach the OpenEMR instance
- Enable detailed logging and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check OpenEMR version in the admin interface or by examining the source code version filesCheck Version:
Check the version.php file or admin interface for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 7.0.1 or later and test access controls for proper enforcement📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts to restricted endpoints
- Access to patient data from unexpected user accounts
Network Indicators:
- Unusual patterns of data access from non-medical staff IPs
SIEM Query:
source="openemr_logs" AND (event="unauthorized_access" OR user="unknown" OR endpoint="/restricted/*")