CVE-2023-38503 Directus has Incorrect Permission Checking for GraphQL Subscriptions
Unauthorized users can receive real-time updates for restricted data via GraphQL subscriptions due to improper permission checks.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-38503?
CVE-2023-38503 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Monospace Directus, published on 25 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Starting in version 10.3.0 and prior to version 10.5.0, the permission filters (i.e. `user_created IS $CURRENT_USER`) are not properly checked when using GraphQL subscription resulting in unauthorized users getting event on their subscription which they should not be receiving according to the permissions. This can be any collection but out-of-the box the `directus_users` collection is configured with such a permissions filter allowing you to get updates for other users when changes happen. Version 10.5.0 contains a patch. As a workaround, disable GraphQL subscriptions.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38503?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including directus. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
directus npm | From 10.3.0 | 10.5.0 |
directus npm | From 10.3.0 | 10.5.0 |
Products include Monospace Directus.
How do I fix CVE-2023-38503?
Upgrade directus to 10.5.0 or later.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2023-38503 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38503 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Monospace Directus
- CVE-2022-26969 Insecure default value for CORS configuration
- CVE-2025-55746 Directus allows unauthenticated file upload and file modification due to lacking input sanitization
- CVE-2026-35408 Directus is Missing Cross-Origin Opener Policy
- CVE-2026-61836 Directus: Authorization-dependent response served from unsegmented cache key
- CVE-2025-30353 Directus's webhook trigger flows can leak sensitive data
Sources
Also known as GHSA-gggm-66rh-pp98.