CVE-2023-40050
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 · uneditedUpload profile either through API or user interface in Chef Automate prior to and including version 4.10.29 using InSpec check command with maliciously crafted profile allows remote code execution.
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 confidenceChef Automate versions prior to and including 4.10.29 contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the InSpec profile check functionality. An authenticated attacker can upload a maliciously crafted InSpec profile through the API or user interface and achieve RCE when the system processes the profile using the InSpec check command.
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<= 4.10.29CVSS 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
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Chef Automate versionAccess the Chef Automate administration settings or run 'chef-automate version' from the CLI. Compare the version number to 4.10.29 or earlier.Affected if The installed version is 4.10.29 or any earlier version.
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Verify InSpec profile upload is accessibleCheck whether the InSpec profile upload API endpoint and the Profiles UI section are available to authenticated users. Review the 'profiles' or 'compliance' service configuration.Affected if The profile upload functionality is enabled and accessible to authenticated users.
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Confirm user permissions for profile uploadsReview user and team permissions in Chef Automate under the 'Users' and 'Teams' settings. Check which roles or policies grant 'upload profiles' or 'manage compliance profiles' permissions.Affected if Any authenticated user or non-admin role has permissions to upload InSpec profiles.
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Check for recent InSpec profile uploadsReview Chef Automate audit logs, compliance logs, or the profiles dashboard for recent profile uploads. Look for profiles uploaded via API or UI around the time of investigation.Affected if There are recent profile uploads from users who should not have that capability, or profiles with unexpected names/content.
A user is affected if they are running Chef Automate version 4.10.29 or earlier AND have InSpec profile upload functionality enabled for any authenticated users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade Chef Automate to a version newer than 4.10.29 to receive the security patch. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict profile upload permissions to trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious profile uploads.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40050 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-40050 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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