CVE-2023-47111 in Zitadel
Summary
by MITRE • 11/09/2023
ZITADEL provides identity infrastructure. ZITADEL provides administrators the possibility to define a `Lockout Policy` with a maximum amount of failed password check attempts. On every failed password check, the amount of failed checks is compared against the configured maximum. Exceeding the limit, will lock the user and prevent further authentication. In the affected implementation it was possible for an attacker to start multiple parallel password checks, giving him the possibility to try out more combinations than configured in the `Lockout Policy`. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.40.5 and 2.38.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/05/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2023-47111 affects ZITADEL identity infrastructure, specifically targeting the lockout policy implementation designed to prevent brute force attacks through failed authentication attempts. This weakness represents a critical security flaw that undermines the fundamental access control mechanisms intended to protect user accounts from unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability stems from an implementation error where the system fails to properly enforce the configured maximum failed password check limits, creating a scenario where attackers can bypass the intended security controls through parallel authentication attempts.
The technical flaw manifests in the lockout policy mechanism that should restrict users to a specific number of failed password attempts before account lockout occurs. When an attacker initiates multiple parallel password check operations simultaneously, the system processes these requests independently rather than aggregating the failed attempts against the configured threshold. This parallel processing capability allows malicious actors to effectively multiply their attack attempts beyond the intended limit, making brute force attacks significantly more efficient and successful than originally intended by the security configuration. The vulnerability essentially creates a race condition or parallel processing loophole that defeats the purpose of account lockout mechanisms designed to slow down or prevent automated attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it fundamentally compromises the security posture of systems relying on ZITADEL for identity management. Attackers can now execute more effective brute force campaigns against user accounts, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data. The vulnerability affects the core authentication security controls that organizations depend on to protect their digital assets, making it particularly dangerous in environments where identity infrastructure serves as a critical security boundary. Organizations using affected versions of ZITADEL face increased risk of account compromise and potential lateral movement within their networks through successful credential theft.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-305 authentication weakness patterns and represents a failure in access control enforcement, specifically related to insufficient account lockout mechanisms. The flaw demonstrates poor implementation of rate limiting and concurrent access controls, which should be classified as a security misconfiguration according to the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the credential access category. Organizations should immediately upgrade to patched versions 2.40.5 or 2.38.3 to remediate this vulnerability, as the patch addresses the core implementation issue preventing parallel authentication attempts from being properly tracked against the configured lockout thresholds. The fix ensures that failed authentication attempts are properly aggregated and counted against the maximum configured limit regardless of how many parallel requests are initiated, restoring the intended security controls for account protection.