CVE-2023-2945 in OpenEMR
Summary
by MITRE • 05/28/2023
Missing Authorization in GitHub repository openemr/openemr prior to 7.0.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-2945 represents a critical authorization flaw within the openemr healthcare management system repository. This issue affects versions prior to 7.0.1 and stems from insufficient access controls that allow unauthorized users to bypass intended security measures. The vulnerability resides in the application's permission handling mechanisms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to gain elevated privileges without proper authentication. This weakness directly contravenes fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper access control enforcement that are essential for protecting sensitive healthcare data.
The technical implementation of this authorization bypass occurs through inadequate validation of user permissions within the application's authentication flow. Attackers can exploit this flaw by crafting specific requests that circumvent the normal authorization checks, potentially gaining access to administrative functions, patient records, or system configuration interfaces. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly verify user credentials against established access control policies before granting access to protected resources. This type of flaw commonly falls under CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering or direct exploitation of weak access controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass significant data integrity and confidentiality risks within healthcare environments. Given that openemr is widely used in medical institutions, exploitation of this vulnerability could result in unauthorized modification of patient records, exposure of protected health information, or complete system compromise. The potential for data breaches increases substantially when considering that healthcare systems often contain highly sensitive information subject to regulatory compliance requirements such as HIPAA. Organizations utilizing affected versions of openemr face heightened risk of insider threats and external attacks targeting their patient management systems, potentially leading to financial losses, legal consequences, and reputational damage.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-2945 primarily involve immediate deployment of the patched version 7.0.1 or later, which addresses the authorization bypass through proper access control enforcement. System administrators should conduct thorough inventory checks to identify all installations running vulnerable versions and implement patch management procedures to ensure timely updates. Additional defensive measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to the openemr system, enabling comprehensive logging and monitoring of access attempts, and conducting regular security assessments to identify potential unauthorized access patterns. Organizations should also review and strengthen their overall access control policies, ensuring that the principle of least privilege is strictly enforced across all system components. The remediation process must include verification that all authentication and authorization mechanisms function correctly after patch deployment, with particular attention to ensuring that role-based access controls properly restrict user capabilities based on their assigned permissions.