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Ldap ConnectorApplication · Forgerock

CVE-2023-1656

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.5.20.14 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information vulnerability in ForgeRock Inc. OpenIDM and Java Remote Connector Server (RCS) LDAP Connector on Windows, MacOS, Linux allows Remote Services with Stolen Credentials.This issue affects OpenIDM and Java Remote Connector Server (RCS): from 1.5.20.9 through 1.5.20.13.

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 · high confidence

Cleartext transmission of sensitive information vulnerability in ForgeRock OpenIDM and Java Remote Connector Server (RCS) LDAP Connector versions 1.5.20.9 through 1.5.20.13 allows network traffic interception, enabling attackers to capture credentials transmitted in cleartext between the connector and LDAP directory services.

MitigationEnable TLS/SSL encryption for all LDAP connections and ensure the LDAP connector is configured to use LDAPS or StartTLS. Verify that network communication is encrypted and implement certificate validation.

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
Ldap ConnectorApplication
Affected:>= 1.5.20.9, < 1.5.20.14

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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. Identify LDAP Connector installation
    Locate the ForgeRock LDAP Connector JAR file in your OpenIDM or RCS installation directory. Check the filename for the version number (typically in the format openidm-connector-*.jar or similar), or use 'jar tf' to inspect the manifest file for the exact version.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.5.20.9, 1.5.20.10, 1.5.20.11, 1.5.20.12, or 1.5.20.13
  2. Locate LDAP connector configuration file
    Find the connector configuration JSON file in your OpenIDM or RCS conf directory (commonly at conf/provisioner.openicf-*.json). Open the file and locate the LDAP connector configuration section.
    Affected if Configuration file exists and the connectorType references the LDAP connector
  3. Verify LDAP connection security configuration
    In the connector configuration file, locate the 'configurationProperties' section. Check the 'url' parameter - note whether it uses ldap:// (port 389 typically) or ldaps:// (port 636). Also check for 'ssl' or 'startTLS' boolean properties within the configuration.
    Affected if The connection URL uses ldap:// without StartTLS, or SSL/TLS is explicitly disabled in the configuration properties
  4. Confirm network listener port
    If the connector configuration does not expose SSL settings directly, check the LDAP server configuration or audit logs to determine which port the connector is communicating on. Port 389 indicates plaintext LDAP; port 636 indicates LDAPS.
    Affected if The connector communicates with the LDAP server on port 389 (plaintext)

You are affected if the LDAP Connector version is 1.5.20.9 through 1.5.20.13 AND the connector is configured to use plaintext LDAP (ldap://) on port 389 without StartTLS or SSL encryption.

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 1.5.20.14 or later
Fixed in 1.5.20.14
Interim mitigation

Enable TLS/SSL encryption for all LDAP connections and ensure the LDAP connector is configured to use LDAPS or StartTLS. Verify that network communication is encrypted and implement certificate validation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ldap Connector 1.5.20.14 or later

  1. Upgrade the Ldap Connector to version 1.5.20.14 or later to remediate the cleartext transmission vulnerability
  2. After upgrading, verify that LDAP connections are configured to use SSL/TLS (LDAPS) or StartTLS for encrypted communication
  3. Consult the ForgeRock documentation for your specific OpenIDM or Java RCS deployment to confirm secure LDAP configuration

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

Fix this in Ldap Connector Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2023-1656 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