dbcve.org
ShiroApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-34478

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.12.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Apache Shiro, before 1.12.0 or 2.0.0-alpha-3, may be susceptible to a path traversal attack that results in an authentication bypass when used together with APIs or other web frameworks that route requests based on non-normalized requests. Mitigation: Update to Apache Shiro 1.12.0+ or 2.0.0-alpha-3+

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

Apache Shiro before 1.12.0 or 2.0.0-alpha-3 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass authentication by sending non-normalized (e.g., containing ../ sequences) HTTP requests. The framework incorrectly routes these requests based on the non-normalized path, enabling unauthorized access to protected resources.

MitigationUpdate Apache Shiro to version 1.12.0 or later (or 2.0.0-alpha-3 or later for the 2.x branch) to remediate the path traversal authentication bypass vulnerability.

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
ShiroApplication
Affected:< 1.12.0= 2.0.0

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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. Identify if Apache Shiro is in use
    Search for Shiro JAR files (shiro-core, shiro-web) in the application's lib or WEB-INF/lib directory, or check build dependencies (pom.xml, build.gradle) for org.apache.shiro
    Affected if Apache Shiro library is found in the application
  2. Determine the installed Shiro version
    Check the version of shiro-core or shiro-web JAR file in the classpath, or inspect the Maven/Gradle dependency tree for org.apache.shiro:shiro-core or org.apache.shiro:shiro-web version
    Affected if The version is below 1.12.0 or equals 2.0.0
  3. Verify web endpoint exposure
    Inspect the application's web.xml or Spring configuration for ShiroFilter or shiroFilter bean definitions that protect application URLs
    Affected if Shiro filter is configured to protect application endpoints and the version is vulnerable
  4. Check for direct HTTP access to protected paths
    If Shiro is in use and the version is vulnerable, send an HTTP request with ../ sequences (e.g., GET /protected/../admin) to test if authentication is bypassed on non-normalized paths
    Affected if Requests with non-normalized paths successfully bypass authentication and access protected resources

A user is affected if their application uses Apache Shiro version 1.12.0 or later is NOT installed, meaning versions below 1.12.0 or exactly version 2.0.0 are in use with Shiro filtering enabled on web endpoints.

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 1.12.0 or later
Fixed in 1.12.0
Interim mitigation

Update Apache Shiro to version 1.12.0 or later (or 2.0.0-alpha-3 or later for the 2.x branch) to remediate the path traversal authentication bypass vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apache Shiro 1.12.0 or later (or 2.0.0-alpha-3 or later for 2.x branch)

  1. Identify all Maven/Gradle dependencies referencing Apache Shiro
  2. Update the Shiro dependency version to 1.12.0 or higher in your pom.xml or build.gradle file (e.g., <artifactId>shiro-core</artifactId><version>1.12.0</version>)
  3. If using 2.x alpha, upgrade to version 2.0.0-alpha-3 or later
  4. Run your build to fetch the updated dependency
  5. Execute your test suite to verify authentication and authorization still function correctly after the upgrade
  6. Deploy the updated application to your target environment
Caveat Review release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and 1.12.0; minor API changes are possible

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

Fix this in Shiro Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,400
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,840.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-34478 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-34478 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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