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SatelliteApplication · Redhat

CVE-2023-0118

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.13.3 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An arbitrary code execution flaw was found in Foreman. This flaw allows an admin user to bypass safe mode in templates and execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Foreman contains a vulnerability where admin users can bypass the safe mode protection in templates, allowing execution of arbitrary code on the host operating system. The template rendering engine intended to restrict code execution failed to properly enforce these restrictions for administrator-level users.

MitigationUpdate Foreman to the latest version that patches the safe mode bypass in template rendering. Review existing templates for any signs of exploitation and implement additional input validation on template content.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SatelliteApplication
Affected:>= 6.13, < 6.13.3
ForemanApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm your Foreman admin role
    Log into the Foreman web UI and navigate to Administer > Users. Click on your user account and check if the 'Admin' checkbox is marked under the user roles section. Alternatively, run `hammer user info --name <username>` and look for admin privileges.
    Affected if Your user account has administrator-level privileges in Foreman, which is required to exploit this vulnerability.
  2. Identify if safe mode templates are in use
    In the Foreman web UI, go to Hosts > Templates. Review any provisioning templates, job templates, or partition tables to see if they use ERB (Embedded Ruby) syntax. Check template settings under Administer > Settings > Template for safe mode related options.
    Affected if Safe mode templates are configured in your Foreman environment, as the vulnerability bypasses the safe mode protection mechanism.
  3. Check Foreman or Satellite version
    For Foreman: Navigate to Administer > About in the web UI, or run `hammer --version` and `rpm -q foreman`. For Red Hat Satellite: Run `satellite-installer --version` or check the version via the web UI at Administer > About. Compare your version to: Theforeman Foreman (all versions affected) or Red Hat Satellite 6.13.x where x < 3.
    Affected if You are running Theforeman Foreman of any version, or Red Hat Satellite versions 6.13.0 through 6.13.2.
  4. Audit recent template modifications
    In Foreman web UI, go to Hosts > Templates > Audit log. Look for recent changes to templates that may contain suspicious Ruby code, shell commands, or calls to system methods. Check for templates modified by admin users that include ERB code calling system(), exec(), or backtick operators.
    Affected if Templates have been recently modified with code that could indicate exploitation of this safe mode bypass vulnerability.

Your environment is affected if you run Foreman with administrator users and the affected version ranges apply, regardless of whether safe mode templates are actively in use.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.13.3 or later
Fixed in 6.13.3
Interim mitigation

Update Foreman to the latest version that patches the safe mode bypass in template rendering. Review existing templates for any signs of exploitation and implement additional input validation on template content.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Satellite 6.13.3 or later (Foreman version bundled with Satellite 6.13.3)

  1. 1. Back up the Foreman/Satellite database and configuration files before upgrading.
  2. 2. For Red Hat Satellite users: Upgrade to Satellite version 6.13.3 or later using the standard upgrade procedure (satellite-installer --upgrade or equivalent).
  3. 3. For Foreman users: Upgrade to the version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Check vendor advisories for the specific Foreman version corresponding to the Satellite 6.13.3 fix.
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify that the safe mode in templates is functioning correctly and cannot be bypassed.
  5. 5. Review user permissions and audit admin accounts to ensure no unauthorized access occurred during the vulnerability window.
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - test in staging first, ensure backup, and review compatibility notes for connected plugins/extensions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Satellite Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-0118 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data