OwncastApplication · Owncast Project

CVE-2023-46480

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
An issue in OwnCast v.0.1.1 allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain sensitive information via the authHost parameter of the indieauth function.

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

OwnCast v0.1.1 contains a critical vulnerability in the indieauth function where the authHost parameter is not properly validated or sanitized, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to inject and execute arbitrary system commands and obtain sensitive information.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of OwnCast; if unavailable, implement strict input validation and sanitization on the authHost parameter in the indieauth function, preferably using an allowlist approach for permitted hosts.

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
OwncastApplication
Affected:= 0.1.1

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 OwnCast version
    Run 'owncast --version' or check the admin dashboard for the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 0.1.1
  2. Locate indieauth configuration
    Check for indieauth-related configuration files in the OwnCast data directory, typically under config/ or similar paths where OwnCast stores settings
    Affected if Indieauth configuration files exist and the authHost parameter is present without proper validation
  3. Verify indieauth feature status
    Check OwnCast admin panel or configuration to determine if the indieauth authentication feature is enabled
    Affected if Indieauth is enabled and the authHost parameter can be controlled via user input
  4. Inspect network exposure
    Check if the indieauth endpoints are exposed to unauthenticated network access by reviewing OwnCast web server logs and access patterns
    Affected if Indieauth endpoints are accessible without authentication from untrusted networks

A user is affected if they are running OwnCast version 0.1.1 with indieauth enabled and the authHost parameter is exposed to unauthenticated attackers.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of OwnCast; if unavailable, implement strict input validation and sanitization on the authHost parameter in the indieauth function, preferably using an allowlist approach for permitted hosts.

Fix this in Owncast 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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46480 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-46480 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