# CVE-2023-2455: Missing authorization in postgresql

> Attackers can bypass row security policies to read or modify forbidden data when queries are planned under one role and executed under another.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 6 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2023-2455, BIT-postgresql-2023-2455, CLEANSTART-2026-PO13772, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-2455, ECHO-e6f8-757c-b54d, GHSA-r7p3-79xh-j7pg, JLSEC-2026-41, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-2455

## What is CVE-2023-2455?

CVE-2023-2455 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 9 Jun 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Row security policies disregard user ID changes after inlining; PostgreSQL could permit incorrect policies to be applied in certain cases where role-specific policies are used and a given query is planned under one role and then executed under other roles. This scenario can happen under security definer functions or when a common user and query is planned initially and then re-used across multiple SET ROLEs. Applying an incorrect policy may permit a user to complete otherwise-forbidden reads and modifications. This affects only databases that have used CREATE POLICY to define a row security policy.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-2455?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including postgresql. It affects 4 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `postgresql` | Bitnami | From 11.0.0 | 11.20.0, 12.15.0, 13.11.0, 14.8.0, 15.3.0 |

Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, Postgresql Postgresql, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Software Collections.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-2455?

Upgrade postgresql to a fixed version for your release line: 11.20.0, 12.15.0, 13.11.0 or 14.8.0.

## Is CVE-2023-2455 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2455 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora

- [CVE-2024-4577](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4577/): PHP-CGI OS Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-39226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39226/): Grafana Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-5544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5544/): VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS OpenSLP Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4947/): Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4671/): Google Chromium Visuals Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-2455 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-2455 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 9 Jun 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2455 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- postgresql (Bitnami): affected from 11.0.0; fixed in 11.20.0, 12.15.0, 13.11.0, 14.8.0, 15.3.0

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-2023-2455/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2455/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2455
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2455
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-2455

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2455/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.