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Couchbase ServerApplication · Couchbase

CVE-2024-56178

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.6.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
An issue was discovered in Couchbase Server 7.6.x through 7.6.3. A user with the security_admin_local role can create a new user in a group that has the admin role.

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

A privilege escalation vulnerability in Couchbase Server 7.6.x through 7.6.3 allows a user with the security_admin_local role to create new users and assign them to groups that have the admin role, effectively bypassing intended role boundaries and granting full administrative privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Couchbase Server to version 7.6.4 or later to receive the security patch that enforces proper role-based access control boundaries for the security_admin_local role.

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
Couchbase ServerApplication
Affected:>= 7.6.0, <= 7.6.3

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Determine Couchbase Server version
    Run 'cbversion' command or check via REST API at http://<host>:8091/pools/default or inspect the installation directory for version file. Alternatively, log into Couchbase Web UI and navigate to About page.
    Affected if Installed version is greater than or equal to 7.6.0 and less than or equal to 7.6.3
  2. Identify users with security_admin_local role
    Access Couchbase Web UI, go to Security > Users. Look for users listed with the security_admin_local role in the Role column. Alternatively, query via REST API: GET http://<host>:8091/settings/rbac/users
    Affected if Any user account has the security_admin_local role assigned
  3. Check for groups with admin role
    In Couchbase Web UI, navigate to Security > Groups. Review each group and verify if the admin role is assigned. Alternatively, query groups via REST API: GET http://<host>:8091/settings/rbac/groups
    Affected if Any group exists with the admin role enabled
  4. Review user-to-group assignments
    In Couchbase Web UI under Security > Users, examine which groups each user belongs to. Specifically check if any user with security_admin_local role is assigned to a group that contains the admin role.
    Affected if A user with security_admin_local role is assigned to a group that has admin role privileges

You are affected if your Couchbase Server version is between 7.6.0 and 7.6.3 inclusive AND you have users with the security_admin_local role assigned to groups containing the admin role.

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 7.6.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Couchbase Server to version 7.6.4 or later to receive the security patch that enforces proper role-based access control boundaries for the security_admin_local role.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Couchbase Server 7.6.4 or later (recommended: latest stable 7.6.x release)

  1. 1. Back up the Couchbase Server cluster configuration and data before upgrading.
  2. 2. Ensure no critical operations are running on the cluster.
  3. 3. Download Couchbase Server version 7.6.4 or later from the official Couchbase downloads page.
  4. 4. Perform a rolling upgrade or planned downtime upgrade following Couchbase's upgrade documentation.
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that the security_admin_local role can no longer create users with admin privileges.
  6. 6. Review user/group assignments to ensure proper role configuration.
Caveat Review Couchbase 7.6.4 release notes for any breaking changes or known issues before upgrading

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

Fix this in Couchbase Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2024-56178 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