#VU81296 Code Injection in composer - CVE-2023-43655

Vulnerability identifier: #VU81296

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-43655

CWE-ID: CWE-94

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
composer
Other software / Other software solutions

Vendor: getcomposer.org

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper access restrictions. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted request to the server with published composer.phar and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system but requires that "register_argc_argv" option is enabled in php.ini.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

composer: 1.0.0beta1 - 1.0.3, 1.1.0 - 1.10.26, 1.2.0 - 1.2.4, 1.3.0 - 1.3.3, 1.4.0 - 1.4.3, 1.5.0 - 1.5.6, 1.6.0 - 1.6.5, 1.7.0 - 1.7.3, 1.8.0 - 1.8.6, 1.9.0 - 1.9.3, 2.0.0 - 2.0.14, 2.1.0 - 2.1.14, 2.2.0 - 2.2.20, 2.3.0 - 2.3.10, 2.4.0 - 2.4.4, 2.5.0 - 2.5.8, 2.6.0 - 2.6.3

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External links
https://github.com/composer/composer/security/advisories/GHSA-jm6m-4632-36hf
https://github.com/composer/composer/releases/tag/1.10.27
https://github.com/composer/composer/releases/tag/2.6.4
https://github.com/composer/composer/releases/tag/2.2.22

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.