CVE-2023-6837

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-6837?

CVE-2023-6837 has a CVSS score of 8.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability in WSO2 products allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users through JIT provisioning flaws. Organizations using WSO2 products with specific federated authentication configurations are affected. Attackers can gain unauthorized access as other users when all preconditions are met.

8.5 HIGH

Authentication Bypass

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in WSO2 products allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users through JIT provisioning flaws. Organizations using WSO2 products with specific federated authentication configurations are affected. Attackers can gain unauthorized access as other users when all preconditions are met.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

WSO2 Identity Server
WSO2 API Manager
WSO2 Enterprise Integrator
WSO2 Micro Integrator

Versions: Multiple versions prior to security patches

Operating Systems: All platforms running affected WSO2 products

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Requires specific configuration: federated authentication with JIT provisioning enabled and 'Prompt for username, password and consent' option, plus service provider with 'Assert identity using mapped local subject identifier' flag enabled.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete account takeover of any user, leading to data theft, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access to sensitive systems.

🟠

Likely Case

Targeted impersonation of specific users to access their resources and perform unauthorized actions within the application.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper monitoring and access controls, but still represents an authentication bypass risk.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires specific configuration conditions and attacker knowledge of target usernames.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Check vendor advisory for specific product versions

Vendor Advisory: https://security.docs.wso2.com/en/latest/security-announcements/security-advisories/2022/WSO2-2021-1573/

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Review vendor advisory for affected versions. 2. Apply security patches from WSO2. 3. Restart affected services. 4. Verify configuration changes.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable configuration

all

Disable JIT provisioning with 'Prompt for username, password and consent' or disable 'Assert identity using mapped local subject identifier' flag in service providers.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict monitoring for authentication anomalies and JIT provisioning events
Enforce multi-factor authentication for all sensitive accounts and operations

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if your WSO2 deployment has federated authentication with JIT provisioning enabled with 'Prompt for username, password and consent' option, and service providers with 'Assert identity using mapped local subject identifier' flag enabled.

Check Version:

Check WSO2 product documentation for version checking commands specific to your deployment.

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify patch installation and confirm vulnerable configurations are disabled or mitigated.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual JIT provisioning events
Authentication from new federated accounts targeting known local users
Multiple authentication attempts with similar patterns

Network Indicators:

Unexpected authentication flows between federated IDP and WSO2 services

SIEM Query:

Search for authentication events where federated user maps to existing local user during JIT provisioning

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-6837

CVSS v3 Score: 8.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N

CWE: CWE-863

Published: December 15, 2023

Last Updated: June 5, 2025

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Api Manager by Wso2

Api Manager by Wso2

Api Manager by Wso2

Api Manager by Wso2

Api Manager by Wso2

Api Manager by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Endpoint by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Endpoint by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Endpoint by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Carbon Identity Application Authentication Framework by Wso2

Identity Server by Wso2

Identity Server by Wso2

Identity Server by Wso2

Identity Server by Wso2

Identity Server by Wso2

Identity Server by Wso2

Identity Server As Key Manager by Wso2

Identity Server As Key Manager by Wso2

Identity Server As Key Manager by Wso2

Identity Server As Key Manager by Wso2

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable configuration

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities