dbcve.org
ConsulApplication · Hashicorp

CVE-2023-2816

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.15.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Consul and Consul Enterprise allowed any user with service:write permissions to use Envoy extensions configured via service-defaults to patch remote proxy instances that target the configured service, regardless of whether the user has permission to modify the service(s) corresponding to those modified proxies.

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

Consul and Consul Enterprise had an authorization bypass where users with service:write permissions on one service could use Envoy extensions configured via service-defaults to patch remote proxy instances targeting that service, even when they lacked permissions to modify the actual upstream services those proxies connect to.

MitigationUpgrade to Consul 1.16.0+ or 1.15.4+ and audit ACL policies to ensure service:write permissions are properly scoped to prevent unintended proxy modification.

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
ConsulApplication
Affected:>= 1.15.0, < 1.15.3

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Check Consul version
    Run `consul version` or inspect the Consul binary/version file. Compare the installed version to the affected range.
    Affected if Installed version is >= 1.15.0 and < 1.15.3 (or < 1.15.4 if 1.15.3 was not released)
  2. Identify service-defaults configurations with Envoy extensions
    Query the Consul catalog or use `consul config list -kind service-defaults` to list service-defaults entries, then inspect each with `consul config read -kind service-defaults -name <service-name>` looking for Envoy extension configurations.
    Affected if Any service-defaults entry contains Envoy extension configurations (field: EnvoyExtensions)
  3. Review ACL policies for service:write permissions
    Use `consul acl policy list` and `consul acl policy read -name <policy-name>` to examine ACL policies. Look for rules granting service:write permissions.
    Affected if ACL policies grant broad service:write permissions that may allow modification of services the user does not own
  4. Audit which services have service-defaults with Envoy extensions
    Cross-reference the service-defaults entries with Envoy extensions against ACL policy scopes to determine if users with limited service:write could modify proxies they should not access.
    Affected if Service-defaults with Envoy extensions exist for services where the ACL policy scope exceeds what the user should have access to

You are affected if running Consul version 1.15.0-1.15.3 AND have service-defaults configurations with Envoy extensions in your environment.

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 1.15.3 or later
Fixed in 1.15.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Consul 1.16.0+ or 1.15.4+ and audit ACL policies to ensure service:write permissions are properly scoped to prevent unintended proxy modification.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Consul 1.15.3

  1. 1. Backup your Consul data directory and configuration files before upgrading.
  2. 2. Review the Consul 1.15.3 release notes for any specific upgrade requirements or migration steps.
  3. 3. Upgrade Consul to version 1.15.3 or later following your deployment method (e.g., Terraform, manual, Kubernetes Helm, etc.).
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify that the Consul cluster is healthy and all nodes are running the new version.
  5. 5. Test that service:write permissions now correctly restrict Envoy extension usage to only proxies for services the user can modify.

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

Fix this in Consul Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-2816 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