# CVE-2023-45613: Security feature bypass in Ktor

> Attackers can bypass TLS certificate validation in JetBrains Ktor, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks against secure connections.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 18 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2fvw-ppfc-cm77

## What is CVE-2023-45613?

CVE-2023-45613 is a medium-severity vulnerability in JetBrains Ktor, published on 9 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In JetBrains Ktor before 2.3.5 server certificates were not verified

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-45613?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Jetbrains Ktor.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-45613?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-45613 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-45613 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45613 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in JetBrains Ktor

- [CVE-2019-12736](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12736/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-29930](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29930/): SHA1 implementation in JetBrains Ktor Native 2.0.0 was returning the same value. (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2023-45612](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45612/): XML external entity in Ktor (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2022-48476](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48476/): Path traversal in Ktor (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-43203](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43203/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-45613 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-45613 is a medium-severity vulnerability in JetBrains Ktor, published on 9 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45613 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: JetBrains Ktor. 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-2023-45613/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45613/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-45613
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45613
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-45613

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45613/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.