dbcve.org
RichdocumentscodeApplication · Collaboraoffice

CVE-2023-49788

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 23.5.602 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Collabora Online is a collaborative online office suite based on LibreOffice technology. Unlike a standalone dedicated Collabora Online server, the Built-in CODE Server (richdocumentscode) is run without chroot sandboxing. Vulnerable versions of the richdocumentscode app can be susceptible to attack via modified client->server commands to overwrite files outside the sub directory the server has provided for the transient session. Files which can be accessed are limited to those that the server process has access to. The bug was fixed in Collabora Online - Built-in CODE Server (richdocumentscode) release 23.5.602. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

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

This is a path traversal vulnerability in Collabora Online's built-in CODE Server (richdocumentscode) where modified client->server commands can overwrite files outside the designated transient session subdirectory due to missing chroot sandboxing. The vulnerability allows attackers with access to the server process to write files to arbitrary locations within the process's file system permissions.

MitigationUpgrade to richdocumentscode release 23.5.602 or later to implement proper chroot sandboxing. No workarounds exist; the sandboxing implementation is required to remediate this 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
RichdocumentscodeApplication
Affected:< 23.5.602

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
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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. Confirm richdocumentscode installation
    Check for the presence of the Collabora Online CODE Server package. On Linux systems, look for package names containing 'richdocumentscode' using package managers (dpkg -l | grep richdocumentscode, rpm -qa | grep richdocumentscode) or check for the installation directory typically at /opt/collaboraoffice/richdocumentscode or /usr/lib/collabora/richdocumentscode.
    Affected if The package or directory is found on the system.
  2. Identify installed version
    Find the version of richdocumentscode. Check the package version using the package manager commands above, or look for a version file in the installation directory such as version.ini, or examine the binary/so file metadata using 'file' or 'strings' commands within the installation path.
    Affected if A version number lower than 23.5.602 is returned.
  3. Verify vulnerable version range
    Compare your identified version against the affected range. The vulnerability affects all versions of richdocumentscode prior to 23.5.602. If your version is < 23.5.602, the chroot sandboxing is not implemented and the path traversal flaw is present.
    Affected if Installed version is any release prior to 23.5.602.
  4. Confirm service exposure
    Determine if the Collabora Online service is accessible to network clients. Check the service configuration (typically in /etc/coolwsd/coolwsd.xml or similar) for the bind address and port settings. Verify if the WOPI host is configured and accessible.
    Affected if The service is network-accessible (not bound to localhost only) and accepts client connections.
  5. Assess attack surface
    Review whether untrusted or external users have access to the Collabora Online service. Check authentication settings and whether the CODE Server handles documents from users who could submit modified client->server commands.
    Affected if Untrusted or external users can interact with the richdocumentscode service.

If richdocumentscode is installed with a version prior to 23.5.602 and is accessible to network clients or untrusted users, the environment is affected by CVE-2023-49788 due to missing chroot sandboxing.

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 23.5.602 or later
Fixed in 23.5.602
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to richdocumentscode release 23.5.602 or later to implement proper chroot sandboxing. No workarounds exist; the sandboxing implementation is required to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

23.5.602

  1. 1. Back up the current richdocumentscode installation and any relevant configuration files
  2. 2. Update richdocumentscode to version 23.5.602 or later through the Nextcloud app store, package manager, or deployment method used
  3. 3. Restart the Collabora Online service or container to load the updated version
  4. 4. Verify the installed version is 23.5.602 or higher to confirm the patch was applied

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

Fix this in Richdocumentscode Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2023-49788 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