VulnerabilityPublished 12 Dec 2023Updated 27 May 2025

CVE-2018-16153: Apereo Opencast · Insufficiently Protected Credentials

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 10.6 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 57% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 10.6

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 Dec 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade opencast/opencast to 10.6.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubopencast/opencast`pkg:github/opencast/opencast`Other threats	Affected >=4.0.0 <10.6	Fixed in 10.6

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately verify their deployment versions of Apereo Opencast and prioritize upgrading to version 10.6 or later, where this vulnerability is addressed. In the absence of an official patch, organizations should consider the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict network egress from Opencast servers to only trusted external services to prevent unauthorized transmission of credentials. 2) Implement strict monitoring and logging of outbound authentication attempts to detect anomalous or unexpected external connections. 3) Use network-level controls such as firewalls or proxy servers to block or scrutinize traffic destined for unknown external endpoints. 4) Rotate any system digest credentials that may have been exposed to limit the window of exploitation. 5) Conduct thorough security audits and penetration testing focused on authentication flows within Opencast deployments. 6) Engage with the Opencast community or vendor for any interim patches or recommended configuration changes. 7) Educate system administrators about the risks of credential leakage and enforce the principle of least privilege for system accounts involved in authentication processes.

Description

An issue was discovered in Apereo Opencast 4.x through 10.x before 10.6. It sends system digest credentials during authentication attempts to arbitrary external services in some situations.

Impact

For European organizations using Apereo Opencast—an open-source video management and lecture capture platform widely adopted by educational institutions and media organizations—this vulnerability poses a significant confidentiality risk. The leakage of system digest credentials to arbitrary external services could allow attackers to impersonate legitimate system components or users, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive video content, user data, or internal systems integrated with Opencast. This could lead to data breaches, violation of privacy regulations such as GDPR, reputational damage, and disruption of educational or media services. Since Opencast is often deployed in academic and research institutions across Europe, the impact extends to the protection of intellectual property and sensitive research data. The absence of required privileges or user interaction for exploitation increases the risk of automated or widespread attacks. Additionally, the exposure of credentials could facilitate further attacks within the network, including privilege escalation or lateral movement, amplifying the overall security risk to European organizations relying on this platform.

CWE-522Insufficiently Protected Credentials (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product transmits or stores authentication credentials, but it uses an insecure method that is susceptible to unauthorized interception and/or retrieval.
Architecture and Design
Use an appropriate security mechanism to protect the credentials.
Architecture and Design
Make appropriate use of cryptography to protect the credentials.
Implementation
Use industry standards to protect the credentials (e.g. LDAP, keystore, etc.).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.10.3 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Session Sidejacking (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Key Theft (opens in a new tab)
Password Recovery Exploitation (opens in a new tab)
Kerberoasting (opens in a new tab)
Modify Existing Service (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Jul 2025, 04:25 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-522

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats