CVE-2024-54151: Directus unauthenticated WebSocket access to CRUD operations

CVE-2024-54151 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2024-12-09

Directus is a headless CMS that manages database content via WebSocket connections. When WebSocket authentication is configured to allow public access, unauthenticated users can subscribe to real-time database changes and perform create, read, update, and delete operations with full administrative privileges on any user-defined collection, exposing sensitive data like user credentials and personal information.

Technologies: @directus/api (npm), directus (npm). Vendors: npm.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2024-54151 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2024-54151 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2024-54151?
Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 9 December 2024.
Which products and versions are affected?
@directus/api (npm) SEMVER:introduced=22.2.0,fixed=23.2.0; directus (npm) SEMVER:introduced=11.0.0,fixed=11.3.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2024-54151?
Yes. @directus/api (npm): upgrade to 23.2.0 or later; directus (npm): upgrade to 11.3.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2024-54151 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2024-54151?
Check whether you run @directus/api (npm) or directus (npm) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • @directus/api (npm): upgrade to 23.2.0 or later
    npm install @directus/api@23.2.0
  • directus (npm): upgrade to 11.3.0 or later
    npm install directus@11.3.0

Technical details

The vulnerability is an authentication bypass in WebSocket handling where unauthenticated requests are assigned null accountability instead of public user permissions. This causes the system to incorrectly default to admin-level access rather than restricted public permissions when WEBSOCKETS_GRAPHQL_AUTH or WEBSOCKETS_REST_AUTH are set to "public". An unauthenticated attacker on the network can exploit this by connecting to the WebSocket endpoint and executing CRUD operations (read, create, update, delete) or subscribing to mutations on any collection, bypassing normal permission checks. The fix involves using createDefaultAccountability() to ensure proper permission scoping for unauthenticated users. This affects Directus versions 11.0.0–11.2.x and 22.2.0–23.1.x; patches are available in 11.3.0 and 23.2.0.

Affected products

  • Directus Directus 11.0.0 to 11.2.x; 22.2.0 to 23.1.x

Identifiers

  • CVE-2024-54151
  • GHSA-849r-qrwj-8rv4

Timeline

  • 2024-12-09: disclosed: Advisory published (GHSA-849r-qrwj-8rv4, CVE-2024-54151)
  • 2024-12-09: patched: Fixed in Directus 11.3.0 and @directus/api 23.2.0

References

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