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OtrsApplication

CVE-2023-6254

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.0.37 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
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
A Vulnerability in OTRS AgentInterface and ExternalInterface allows the reading of plain text passwords which are send back to the client in the server response- This issue affects OTRS: from 8.0.X through 8.0.37.

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

In OTRS 8.0.x through 8.0.37, the AgentInterface and ExternalInterface components return plaintext passwords in server responses to authenticated users, allowing any user with session access to potentially obtain credentials of other users through the client response.

MitigationUpgrade OTRS to version 8.0.38 or later which contains the patch, or apply the vendor-supplied patch to prevent plaintext password leakage in API responses.

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
OtrsApplication
Affected:>= 8.0.1, <= 8.0.37

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Identify installed OTRS version
    Access the OTRS admin panel or check the version file in the OTRS installation directory (typically Kernel/VERSION or similar version file in the OTRS home directory)
    Affected if The installed version is 8.0.1 through 8.0.37 (inclusive)
  2. Verify AgentInterface or ExternalInterface is in use
    Determine if the OTRS system exposes the AgentInterface (agent web interface) or ExternalInterface (REST/XML API) to users
    Affected if Either the AgentInterface or ExternalInterface is accessible and users have authenticated session access
  3. Inspect API responses for password data
    As an authenticated user, make API calls to user-related endpoints (such as user get, user list, or session user info endpoints) and examine the response payload for any plaintext password content
    Affected if API responses contain plaintext password values in any field (such as password, UserPassword, or similar) rather than being omitted or masked

You are affected if your OTRS version is between 8.0.1 and 8.0.37 inclusive AND you have users accessing the AgentInterface or ExternalInterface where API responses may expose plaintext passwords.

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 8.0.37
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OTRS to version 8.0.38 or later which contains the patch, or apply the vendor-supplied patch to prevent plaintext password leakage in API responses.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to OTRS 8.0.38 or later (the first stable release after 8.0.37 that addresses this vulnerability)

  1. 1. Identify the current OTRS version by navigating to Admin > System Administration > System Information or checking the var/revision.xml file
  2. 2. Access the OTRS official security advisory page at https://otrs.com to determine the specific fixed release for CVE-2023-6254
  3. 3. Download the updated OTRS package from the official OTRS download area
  4. 4. Create a full backup of the OTRS database and filesystem (including var/ and Kernel/config.pm) before proceeding
  5. 5. Stop the OTRS web server (Apache/Nginx) and OTRS service
  6. 6. Install the updated OTRS packages using the distribution-specific package manager or manual installation
  7. 7. Run the OTRS package manager to upgrade the database if needed: ./bin/otrs.PackageManager.pl -a upgrade -p /path/to/package
  8. 8. Clear all caches: ./bin/otrs.DeleteCache.pl
Caveat Review OTRS 8.0.38 release notes for any breaking changes or database migrations that may require testing in a non-production environment before deployment

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

Fix this in Otrs Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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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-2023-6254 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