Description

CVE-2024-53991 is a vulnerability in Discourse, an open source platform for community discussion. This vulnerability allows attackers to potentially gain access to sensitive data stored in Discourse backups if the instance is configured to use FileStore::LocalStore. This means that uploads and backups are stored locally on the disk, making them vulnerable to unauthorized access through crafted requests.

The SOCRadar Vulnerability Risk Score (SVRS) for this vulnerability is 34, indicating a moderate risk. While the CVSS score is 7.5, which suggests a high severity, the SVRS takes into account other factors like threat actor activity, exploit availability, and potential impact.

Key Insights

• Exploitation Method: This vulnerability can be exploited by attackers who know the name of the Discourse backup file. They can then craft a specially designed request to trick the nginx web server into sending the backup file, potentially exposing sensitive data.
• Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to the disclosure of sensitive data stored in Discourse backups, including user information, forum content, and potentially confidential data.
• In The Wild: This vulnerability has been observed being actively exploited by hackers in the wild.
• Threat Actor: The threat actor(s) exploiting this vulnerability have not been publicly identified.

Mitigation Strategies

• Upgrade Discourse: The most effective mitigation strategy is to upgrade Discourse to the latest stable, beta, or tests-passed versions, which include a fix for this vulnerability.
• Disable Backup Feature: If upgrading is not immediately possible, disable the enable_backups site setting and delete all existing local backups. This will prevent further backups from being created, mitigating the risk of data exposure.
• Change Backup Location: Configure the backup_location site setting to s3, which will store backups on the S3 cloud platform, eliminating the local storage vulnerability.
• Network Segmentation: Implement network segmentation to isolate the Discourse server from other critical systems, limiting the potential impact of a successful attack.

Additional Information

If users have additional queries regarding this incident, they can use the 'Ask to Analyst' feature, contact SOCRadar directly, or open a support ticket for more information if necessary.