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DatahubApplication

CVE-2023-25559

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.8.45 or later.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
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
DataHub is an open-source metadata platform. When not using authentication for the metadata service, which is the default configuration, the Metadata service (GMS) will use the X-DataHub-Actor HTTP header to infer the user the frontend is sending the request on behalf of. When the backends retrieves the header, its name is retrieved in a case-insensitive way. This case differential can be abused by an attacker to smuggle an X-DataHub-Actor header with different casing (eg: X-DATAHUB-ACTOR). This issue may lead to an authorization bypass by allowing any user to impersonate the system user account and perform any actions on its behalf. This vulnerability was discovered and reported by the GitHub Security lab and is tracked as GHSL-2022-079.

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

DataHub's Metadata service (GMS) uses the X-DataHub-Actor HTTP header to infer user identity when authentication is disabled (the default). The backend retrieves this header case-insensitively, allowing attackers to smuggle alternate-casing variants (e.g., X-DATAHUB-ACTOR) to bypass authorization checks and impersonate the privileged system user, gaining full administrative capabilities.

MitigationEnable authentication on the Metadata service (GMS) to eliminate reliance on client-supplied headers for user inference; alternatively, implement strict header name validation and reject requests with non-standard casing.

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
DatahubApplication
Affected:< 0.8.45

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 DataHub version
    Check the installed DataHub version by reviewing the deployed artifacts, docker images, or application metadata. Common methods include: reviewing the Helm chart version, docker image tag, or checking build artifacts.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 0.8.45
  2. Locate GMS service configuration
    Find the configuration files or environment variables for the DataHub Metadata service (GMS). Check for authentication settings in datahub.properties, application.yml, or environment variables like DATAHUB_AUTH_ENABLED.
    Affected if Authentication configuration shows auth is disabled (the default setting)
  3. Verify GMS accepts X-DataHub-Actor header
    Send a test request to the GMS endpoint (typically port 8080 or 8081) with a non-standard casing variant of the X-DataHub-Actor header (e.g., X-DATAHUB-ACTOR or X-DataHub-Actor) without providing authentication tokens. Inspect whether the service processes the request and uses the header value for authorization decisions.
    Affected if The GMS service accepts and acts on the X-DataHub-Actor header when authentication is not provided, allowing actor impersonation

A user is affected if they run DataHub version lower than 0.8.45 with authentication disabled (the default), where the GMS service processes the client-supplied X-DataHub-Actor header for authorization decisions.

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 0.8.45 or later
Fixed in 0.8.45
Interim mitigation

Enable authentication on the Metadata service (GMS) to eliminate reliance on client-supplied headers for user inference; alternatively, implement strict header name validation and reject requests with non-standard casing.

Recommended fix High confidence

0.8.45 or later

  1. 1. Backup your current DataHub deployment and configuration
  2. 2. Update DataHub to version 0.8.45 or later
  3. 3. Verify the update was successful by checking the GMS service version
  4. 4. Test that authentication (if enabled) and authorization work correctly
  5. 5. Confirm that header case handling is now properly normalized

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

Fix this in Datahub Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-25559 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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