CVE-2023-54410 in Frappe
Summary
by MITRE • 10/13/2026
Frappe before 13.22.0 contains an improper authorization vulnerability that allows authenticated users to rename documents by exploiting a missing permission check. Attackers can invoke the document rename functionality on documents they lack permission to modify, altering records without proper authorization.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2026
The identified security flaw resides within Frappe versions prior to 13.22.0 and is classified as an improper authorization vulnerability. This issue stems from a critical oversight in the application's access control logic, specifically concerning the document rename functionality. The core technical deficiency involves a missing permission check that fails to validate whether the authenticated user possesses the necessary privileges to modify or alter specific records before executing the rename operation. In a properly secured system, any action that modifies data state must be preceded by a rigorous verification of the requester's rights against the target resource's access control list. The absence of this validation step creates a direct path for unauthorized modifications, allowing users with valid authentication credentials to bypass intended restrictions and alter records they are not authorized to touch.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability significantly impacts data integrity and confidentiality within environments relying on Frappe as their underlying framework. Since the flaw permits authenticated users to rename documents without proper authorization, it can lead to severe consequences such as unauthorized alteration of critical business records, misdirection of workflows that depend on specific document identifiers or names, and potential confusion in audit trails where record identity is compromised. Attackers who exploit this weakness do not need elevated privileges beyond standard authentication; they simply leverage their existing session to invoke the rename API endpoint with a target document ID for which they lack write permissions. This capability undermines the principle of least privilege and can be used maliciously to disrupt operations, hide tracks by renaming evidence-related documents, or cause data inconsistency across linked modules that reference these renamed entities.
This vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-269, Improper Privilege Management, as it involves a failure to enforce appropriate access controls for specific actions within the application logic. Furthermore, in the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this behavior is indicative of techniques associated with lateral movement or data manipulation by authenticated insiders, specifically falling under tactics related to Defense Evasion if used to obscure activity, or Impact if used to corrupt data integrity. The exploitation vector typically involves crafting a specific HTTP request that targets the document rename endpoint while supplying an identifier for a resource outside the user's permitted scope. Because the server does not adequately verify permissions before processing this request, it executes the change regardless of the user's actual role or rights assignment within the system hierarchy.
To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations running Frappe versions earlier than 13.22.0 must upgrade to version 13.22.0 or later immediately upon availability. This update includes the necessary patches that enforce strict permission checks on all document modification endpoints, including rename operations. For environments where immediate upgrading is not feasible due to compatibility constraints, temporary mitigations should focus on restricting access to the affected API endpoints through network-level controls such as Web Application Firewalls (WAF) or reverse proxy configurations. Additionally, implementing robust logging and monitoring for unusual patterns of document renaming can help detect potential exploitation attempts in real-time. It is also advisable to review user roles and permissions regularly to ensure that no excessive privileges are granted unnecessarily, thereby reducing the blast radius should such a vulnerability be exploited by malicious actors within the organization.