# CVE-2023-38510: Tolgee Lacks Permission Check for API Key for some endpoints

> Attackers with exposed API keys can bypass permission checks on certain endpoints, potentially accessing unauthorized data in Tolgee localization projects.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 27 Jul 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4f9j-4vh4-p85v

## What is CVE-2023-38510?

CVE-2023-38510 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in tolgee-platform, published on 27 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Tolgee is an open-source localization platform. Starting in version 3.14.0 and prior to version 3.23.1, when a request is made using an API key, the backend fails to verify the permission scopes associated with the key, effectively bypassing permission checks entirely for some endpoints. It's important to note that this vulnerability only affects projects that have inadvertently exposed their API keys on the internet. Projects that have kept their API keys secure are not impacted. This issue is fixed in version 3.23.1.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38510?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Tolgee Tolgee.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-38510?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-38510 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-38510 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38510 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in tolgee-platform

- [CVE-2024-52297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-52297/): Tolgee's configuration all configuration properties leaked in public configuration DTO (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-32251](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32251/): Tolgee has an XXE Injection in Translation Import (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-32470](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-32470/): Tolgee' API keys created by server admin users bypass the permission check (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-41316](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41316/): HTML Injection with email in Tolgee (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2024-32466](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-32466/): Tolgee's API key scopes not checked when querying translation data (low 2.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-38510 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-38510 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in tolgee-platform, published on 27 Jul 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-2023-38510 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: tolgee-platform. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2023-38510/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38510/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38510
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38510
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38510

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38510/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.