Missing AuthenticationWeakness · CWE-306

CVE-2023-54342

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-05
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
Public exploit 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
Eclipse Equinox OSGi versions 3.8 through 3.18 contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the console interface that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting the fork command functionality. Attackers can establish a telnet connection to the OSGi console, perform a telnet handshake, and send fork commands to download and execute malicious Java code, establishing a reverse shell connection.

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

Eclipse Equinox OSGi versions 3.8-3.18 contain an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in the console interface. Attackers can connect via telnet and use the fork command functionality to download and execute arbitrary malicious Java code, establishing reverse shell connections.

MitigationRestrict network access to the OSGi console interface (disable telnet if not required) and upgrade to a patched version of Eclipse Equinox OSGi beyond version 3.18.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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 if Eclipse Equinox OSGi is present
    Check for Java processes running OSGi containers, or look for osgi.jar, equinox.jar, or org.eclipse.osgi_* files in the application runtime
    Affected if Eclipse Equinox OSGi framework is installed and running
  2. Determine the installed Equinox OSGi version
    Inspect the OSGi bundle manifest for org.eclipse.osgi bundle, or check the JAR file name/version in the installation directory
    Affected if The version falls within 3.8 through 3.18 inclusive
  3. Verify if telnet console is enabled
    Check startup scripts or configuration for -console telnet port specification (commonly port 5555 or 5556), or inspect the org.eclipse.equinox.console.group configuration
    Affected if Telnet console listener is actively listening on a network port
  4. Confirm network exposure of the console
    Use netstat or ss to check if the console port binds to 0.0.0.0 or an external interface rather than localhost only
    Affected if The console port accepts remote connections from untrusted networks
  5. Check if fork command extension is loaded
    Inspect the console command list via 'help' or 'so' (services:list) command in the OSGi console to see if fork or osgi.command.function bundle is registered
    Affected if The fork command functionality is available in the console

A user is affected if Eclipse Equinox OSGi versions 3.8-3.18 are running with the telnet console exposed to untrusted networks and the fork command is available.

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

Restrict network access to the OSGi console interface (disable telnet if not required) and upgrade to a patched version of Eclipse Equinox OSGi beyond version 3.18.

Have this fixed 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
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-54342 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