Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-0599 is a stored cross-site scripting flaw in Rapid7 Metasploit Pro 4.21.2 and earlier. A logged-in attacker could save malicious content that runs in another Metasploit Pro user's browser. Because Metasploit Pro users often have administrator-equivalent privileges, the business risk is concentrated but meaningful.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted administrative-tool risk, not a broad internet worm risk. Prioritize remediation where Metasploit Pro is shared by multiple users or reachable from less trusted networks. The operational impact could be serious because the tool commonly holds sensitive security context.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-79 stored XSS caused by insufficient sanitization of a JavaScript request string. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.1 with network access, low attack complexity, high privileges required, and user interaction required. Successful exploitation could impact confidentiality and integrity, but not availability, according to the supplied vector.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running Rapid7 Metasploit Pro 4.21.2 or lower, especially where multiple users share access to the Pro web interface. Internet exposure is not stated in the sources, so do not assume public reachability without local asset data.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires an authenticated Metasploit Pro user and interaction from another user. The main concern is cross-user browser execution inside a high-privilege security operations tool.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports stored XSS in Metasploit Pro 4.21.2 and lower. The bundle does not provide exploit telemetry, detailed vulnerable parameters, or a named fixed version. Avoid assuming exploitation in the wild; validate by version and vendor release guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Check Rapid7 guidance and update Metasploit Pro beyond affected versions.
- Restrict Metasploit Pro access to trusted administrators until remediated.
- Remove stale or unnecessary Metasploit Pro user accounts.
- Limit network access to the Metasploit Pro management interface.
- Review saved request content for unexpected script or HTML patterns.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Metasploit Pro deployments and record exact versions.
- Flag instances running version 4.21.2 or lower.
- Confirm remediation against Rapid7's January 30, 2023 release notes.
- Review user access lists for unnecessary authenticated users.
- Check logs or saved requests for suspicious script-like content.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-0599 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N0.95.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://docs.rapid7.com/release-notes/metasploit/20230130/CVE reference · release-notes
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.