CVE-2023-51655
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 · uneditedIn JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2023.3.2 code execution was possible in Untrusted Project mode via a malicious plugin repository specified in the project configuration
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 · moderate confidenceIn JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA versions prior to 2023.3.2, the Untrusted Project mode improperly allowed arbitrary code execution through a malicious plugin repository specified in the project configuration file. An attacker could craft a project file that configures a hostile plugin repository, causing the IDE to load and execute malicious plugins when the project is opened.
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< 2023.3.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check your IntelliJ IDEA versionOpen IntelliJ IDEA and go to Help > About, or look at the IDE window title bar which displays the version numberAffected if The version shown is earlier than 2023.3.2 (for example, 2023.3.1, 2023.3.0, 2023.2.x, etc.)
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Locate the project configuration directoryOpen the project you intend to inspect and locate the .idea folder in the project root directoryAffected if The project has a .idea folder containing configuration XML files
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Inspect plugin repository settingsWithin the .idea folder, search configuration files (such as plugins.xml, project.default.xml, or other XML files) for entries related to plugin repositories, custom plugin URLs, or repository URLsAffected if You find plugin repository URLs that you did not intentionally configure, or URLs pointing to untrusted/third-party plugin sources
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Check for Untrusted Project mode usageWhen opening a project, if IntelliJ IDEA presented an Untrusted Project warning, note whether you proceeded to open itAffected if You opened a project in Untrusted mode and that project contains custom plugin repository configurations in its settings
You are affected if your IntelliJ IDEA version is earlier than 2023.3.2 AND you have opened projects containing custom or untrusted plugin repository configurations in the project settings.
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.
dbcve · scoped2023.3.2
Upgrade to IntelliJ IDEA 2023.3.2 or later. Until patched, avoid opening projects from untrusted sources and do not configure plugin repositories in untrusted project settings.
2023.3.2
- Back up any important projects and IDE settings before upgrading
- Download IntelliJ IDEA version 2023.3.2 or later from the official JetBrains website (www.jetbrains.com)
- Install the new version, either as an upgrade or fresh install
- Launch the upgraded IntelliJ IDEA and verify the version number matches 2023.3.2 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-51655 — 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-2023-51655 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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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.
- 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