CVE-2024-5213 is a vulnerability identified in the mintplex-labs/anything-llm project, versions up to and including 1.5.3. The issue arises because the backend API responses for login (`POST /api/request-token`) and user creation (`POST /api/admin/users/new`) include the entire User object, which contains the bcrypt password hash. This exposure of the password hash to the frontend violates secure coding practices and CWE-201 (Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data). Although bcrypt is a strong hashing algorithm designed to resist brute-force attacks, exposing the hash increases the risk that an attacker could perform offline cracking attempts, potentially leading to credential compromise. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.3, indicating medium severity, with a network attack vector (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), low privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), high confidentiality impact (C:H), and no impact on integrity or availability (I:N/A:N). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The root cause is the backend's practice of returning the full User object rather than a sanitized version excluding sensitive fields. This vulnerability could be exploited remotely by an attacker with low privileges to obtain password hashes, which could then be subjected to offline cracking attempts. The issue highlights the importance of strict data handling policies and response filtering to prevent leakage of sensitive information in API responses.

For European organizations using mintplex-labs/anything-llm, this vulnerability poses a significant confidentiality risk. Exposure of password hashes can lead to offline brute-force attacks, potentially compromising user credentials and enabling unauthorized access to systems and data. This is particularly critical for organizations handling sensitive personal data, intellectual property, or operating in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government. The breach of password hashes could also facilitate lateral movement within networks if credentials are reused or weak. Although the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability directly, the compromise of user accounts can lead to further attacks, data exfiltration, and reputational damage. The medium severity rating reflects the balance between the difficulty of exploitation (high complexity) and the high confidentiality impact. European entities relying on this software for AI or machine learning workloads may face operational disruptions if attackers leverage compromised credentials to escalate privileges or disrupt services.

To mitigate CVE-2024-5213, organizations should immediately update or patch the mintplex-labs/anything-llm software once a fix is available. In the interim, developers should modify the backend API to exclude sensitive fields such as password hashes from all responses sent to the frontend. Implement strict response filtering and data sanitization to ensure only necessary user information is exposed. Conduct a thorough code review and audit all API endpoints for similar sensitive data exposures. Enforce strong password policies and consider multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk from compromised credentials. Monitor logs for unusual login activity or failed authentication attempts that could indicate brute-force attacks. Educate developers on secure coding practices regarding sensitive data handling. Additionally, rotate user credentials if hashes are suspected to have been exposed. Network segmentation and least privilege access controls can limit the impact of compromised accounts. Finally, maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly respond to any breach.