SyncopeApplication · Apache
CVE-2024-38503
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 · uneditedWhen editing a user, group or any object in the Syncope Console, HTML tags could be added to any text field and could lead to potential exploits. The same vulnerability was found in the Syncope Enduser, when editing “Personal Information” or “User Requests”. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.0.8, which fixes this 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 confidenceThis is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Apache Syncope where HTML tags can be injected into text fields when editing users, groups, or objects in both the Console and Enduser interfaces. The application fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied input before rendering it, allowing malicious scripts to be persisted and executed in the context of other users' browsers.
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
SyncopeApplication
>= 2.1.0, <= 2.1.14>= 3.0.0, < 3.0.8CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Apache Syncope installation versionLocate the deployed Syncope instance and check its version through the admin Console (typically in 'About' or 'Configuration' section), or inspect WAR file names, version.properties, or pom.xml in the deployment artifactsAffected if The installed version falls within 2.1.0 through 2.1.14, or 3.0.0 through 3.0.7
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Confirm Console or Enduser interface is accessibleVerify that either the Console (admin UI) or Enduser (self-service UI) web interfaces are deployed and accessible. Check deployment configuration or attempt to access the known interface URLsAffected if Either the Console or Enduser interface is active and reachable
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Check if user, group, or object management is enabledReview the deployed application configuration to determine if user, group, or any object type management features are enabled. These are typically default features but may be explicitly disabled in some deploymentsAffected if User, group, or object management capabilities are available in the interface
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Inspect input handling configurationExamine the application's configuration files (such as web.xml, Spring context files, or custom configuration) for any existing input validation, sanitization, or output encoding mechanisms applied to text fields in the Console and Enduser componentsAffected if No input sanitization or output encoding is configured for text fields used in user/group/object editing
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Verify text field rendering behaviorIf you have administrative access, create or edit a test user, group, or object through the Console or Enduser interface, inserting plain HTML markup (such as <b>test</b>) into a text field and then view the record to observe whether the HTML is rendered as markup or displayed as plain textAffected if HTML tags are rendered as active markup rather than being escaped when the record is displayed to another user
You are affected if your Apache Syncope version is between 2.1.0-2.1.14 or 3.0.0-3.0.7, the Console or Enduser interface is active, and text fields in user/group/object management render HTML markup without encoding.
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 · scoped3.0.8
Upgrade to Apache Syncope version 3.0.8 or later. If immediate upgrading is not possible, implement output encoding for all text fields in both Console and Enduser components and validate input against allowlists.
Apache Syncope 3.0.8
- 1. Back up your current Syncope installation and database before upgrading.
- 2. Download Apache Syncope version 3.0.8 from the official Apache Syncope distribution sources (downloads.apache.org/syncope).
- 3. Review the Syncope 3.0.8 release notes for any migration requirements or breaking changes relevant to your deployment.
- 4. Stop the current Syncope services (Console and Enduser).
- 5. Upgrade the Syncope Console component to version 3.0.8.
- 6. Upgrade the Syncope Enduser component to version 3.0.8.
- 7. Start the upgraded Syncope services.
- 8. Verify that the upgrade was successful by logging into the Console and Enduser.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Syncope
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-38503 — 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-2024-38503 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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- 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