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IotdbApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-51656

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.13.4 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
Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Apache IoTDB.This issue affects Apache IoTDB: from 0.13.0 through 0.13.4. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 1.2.2, which fixes the issue.

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 IoTDB versions 0.13.0-0.13.4 contain a deserialization vulnerability where untrusted data is deserialized without proper validation, potentially allowing remote code execution. This is a critical deserialization flaw in the database's data handling layer.

MitigationUpgrade Apache IoTDB to version 1.2.2 or later. Prior to upgrade, perform full backups and validate compatibility in a staging environment since this is a major version change.

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
IotdbApplication
Affected:>= 0.13.0, <= 0.13.4

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 installed Apache IoTDB version
    Check the version file in the IoTDB installation directory (version.txt in the root directory) or examine the startup logs for the version string. Alternatively, check the 'iotdb-common.properties' or 'iotdb-config.properties' file which may contain version information.
    Affected if The installed version is 0.13.0, 0.13.1, 0.13.2, 0.13.3, or 0.13.4
  2. Confirm the RPC/Thrift service is enabled
    Inspect the IoTDB configuration file (iotdb-common.properties or iotdb-config.properties) for the property 'rpc_port' (default 6667) or 'enable_rpc' set to true. This service handles serialized data between clients and the database.
    Affected if The RPC service (Thrift interface) is enabled and configured to accept connections
  3. Verify network exposure of the RPC port
    Check if port 6667 (or the configured RPC port) is listening on network interfaces accessible from untrusted networks. Use 'netstat -tlnp' or 'ss -tlnp' to list listening ports and their bind addresses.
    Affected if The RPC port is bound to 0.0.0.0 or an IP accessible from untrusted networks, allowing remote clients to send deserialized data
  4. Check for active sessions using deserialization
    Review IoTDB access logs or audit logs for incoming session connections. The vulnerability triggers when untrusted serialized data is received through the session interface.
    Affected if There are active or possible remote session connections to the database from network clients

You are affected if IoTDB version 0.13.0 through 0.13.4 is installed AND the RPC/Thrift service is enabled and accessible over the network, as this allows remote attackers to send malicious deserialized data.

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 a release after 0.13.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache IoTDB to version 1.2.2 or later. Prior to upgrade, perform full backups and validate compatibility in a staging environment since this is a major version change.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.2.2

  1. 1. Back up all existing IoTDB data and configuration files to prevent data loss during upgrade
  2. 2. Stop the currently running IoTDB service
  3. 3. Download Apache IoTDB version 1.2.2 from the official Apache IoTDB downloads page (https://iotdb.apache.org/Download.html)
  4. 4. Follow the official Apache IoTDB upgrade guide for migrating from 0.13.x to 1.2.2, ensuring all migration scripts are executed
  5. 5. Start the upgraded IoTDB service
  6. 6. Verify the service is running correctly and data is accessible

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

Fix this in Iotdb Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.

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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-2023-51656 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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