CVE-2023-5720
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Quarkus allows attackers to access sensitive build system information that remains in artifacts created with the Gradle plugin. The flaw occurs due to improper sanitization of build artifacts, potentially exposing configuration details, credentials, or other sensitive data. Organizations using Quarkus with the Gradle plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Quarkus
📦 What is this software?
Quarkus by Quarkus
Quarkus by Quarkus
Quarkus by Quarkus
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain access to sensitive build credentials, API keys, or configuration secrets that could lead to further system compromise or data breaches.
Likely Case
Exposure of build configuration details, environment variables, or other non-critical but potentially sensitive information from the build process.
If Mitigated
Limited exposure of non-sensitive build metadata with no access to production credentials or critical systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to the application artifacts, which could be through web access, file downloads, or other artifact exposure mechanisms.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Red Hat advisory for specific fixed versions
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5720
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Quarkus to the patched version specified in Red Hat advisory. 2. Rebuild your application with the updated Quarkus version. 3. Redeploy the application. 4. Restart the application server.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Manual artifact sanitization
allManually inspect and clean build artifacts before deployment to remove sensitive build information
# Review build artifacts for sensitive information
# Remove or sanitize any files containing build system details
Switch to Maven build system
allUse Maven instead of Gradle for building Quarkus applications as this vulnerability only affects Gradle plugin
# Convert Gradle build to Maven
# Update CI/CD pipelines to use Maven
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit who can access application artifacts
- Deploy web application firewall rules to block access to build artifact paths
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if your Quarkus application was built with Gradle plugin and inspect build artifacts for sensitive informationCheck Version:
quarkus --versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, rebuild application and verify that build artifacts no longer contain sensitive build system information📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual access patterns to build artifact files
- Requests for build-related paths in web logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests targeting known build artifact paths
- Unusual file downloads from application endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri="*build*" OR uri="*gradle*" OR uri="*.gradle*" OR uri="*build-info*")