# CVE-2023-2197: Vault Enterprise Vulnerable to Padding Oracle Attacks When Using a CBC-based Encryption Mechanism with a HSM

> Attackers with storage access can exploit a padding oracle in HSM-backed CBC encryption to derive the root key, compromising all secrets.

- **Severity:** Low 2.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 May 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** BIT-vault-2023-2197, GHSA-33j2-92xf-fwm3

## What is CVE-2023-2197?

CVE-2023-2197 is a low-severity vulnerability in Hashicorp Vault, published on 1 May 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

HashiCorp Vault Enterprise 1.13.0 up to 1.13.1 is vulnerable to a padding oracle attack when using an HSM in conjunction with the CKM_AES_CBC_PAD or CKM_AES_CBC encryption mechanisms. An attacker with privileges to modify storage and restart Vault may be able to intercept or modify cipher text in order to derive Vault’s root key. Fixed in 1.13.2

Weakness: CWE-326 (Inadequate Encryption Strength)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-2197?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including vault. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `vault` | Bitnami | From 1.13.0 | 1.13.2 |

Products: Hashicorp Vault.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-2197?

Upgrade vault to 1.13.2 or later.

## Is CVE-2023-2197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Hashicorp Vault

- [CVE-2020-35192](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35192/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-12757](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12757/): Improper Input Validation in HashiCorp Vault (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-6000](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-6000/): Arbitrary Remote Code Execution via Plugin Catalog Abuse (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-40186](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40186/): HashiCorp Vault vulnerable to incorrect metadata access (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-36129](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36129/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-2197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-2197 is a low-severity vulnerability in Hashicorp Vault, published on 1 May 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- vault (Bitnami): affected from 1.13.0; fixed in 1.13.2

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-2197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.