CVE-2023-40610VulnerabilityPublished 27 Nov 2023Updated 3 Jun 2025

CVE-2023-40610: Apache Superset · Incorrect Authorization

Affects Apache SupersetSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.3 Medium : upgrade to 2.1.2 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.3Medium

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

EPSS: 1.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 70% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 2.1.2

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to 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 27 Nov 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 2026-10-26.

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 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 apache-superset to 2.1.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PyPIapache-superset`pkg:pypi/apache-superset`Other threats	Affected <2.1.2	Fixed in 2.1.2

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 assess their Apache Superset deployments to determine if they are running affected versions (prior to 2.1.2). If you cannot patch yet, organizations should consider the following specific mitigations: 1) Disable or restrict access to the default examples database connection to prevent exploitation via the vulnerable schema. 2) Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access to Superset instances only to trusted internal users and systems. 3) Enforce strong authentication and authorization policies at the infrastructure level to reduce the risk of low-privilege users exploiting the vulnerability. 4) Monitor Superset logs and database activity for unusual or unauthorized SQL queries, especially those involving CTEs or metadata database modifications. 5) Plan and prioritize upgrading to Apache Superset version 2.1.2 or later once patches are officially released. 6) Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on Superset deployments to detect potential exploitation attempts early.

Description

Improper authorization check and possible privilege escalation on Apache Superset up to but excluding 2.1.2. Using the default examples database connection that allows access to both the examples schema and Apache Superset's metadata database, an attacker using a specially crafted CTE SQL statement could change data on the metadata database. This weakness could result on tampering with the authentication/authorization data.

Impact

For European organizations using Apache Superset, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity of their data analytics and business intelligence environments. Since Superset often integrates with sensitive business data and controls access to dashboards and reports, unauthorized privilege escalation could lead to unauthorized data manipulation, falsified reports, or unauthorized access to sensitive insights. This could undermine decision-making processes, lead to compliance violations (e.g., GDPR), and damage organizational reputation. The ability to alter authentication and authorization data could also facilitate persistent unauthorized access, complicating incident response efforts. Given the medium CVSS score and the requirement for low privileges but high attack complexity, the threat is more relevant to organizations with less restrictive network controls or those exposing Superset instances to broader internal or external networks. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for targeted attacks, especially in sectors with high-value data such as finance, healthcare, and government agencies within Europe.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Jul 2025, 21:43 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats