GHSA-8hx6-qv6f-xgcw CVE-2023-38699 PYSEC-2023-140

MindsDB can be made to not verify SSL certificates

Critical PyPI

Severity: 9.1 / 10; Critical · CVSS 3.1
Exploit chance (EPSS): 0.30%; Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 22.32% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited: No; Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness: CWE-311 Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data
Fix: 23.7.4.0; Upgrade mindsdb to this version or later

Description

Summary

MindsDB's AI Virtual Database allows developers to connect any AI/ML model to any datasource. Prior to version 23.7.4.0, a call to requests with verify=False disables SSL certificate checks. This rule enforces always verifying SSL certificates for methods in the Requests library. In version 23.7.4.0, certificates are validated by default, which is the desired behavior

Encryption in general is typically critical to the security of many applications. Using TLS can significantly increase security by guaranteeing the identity of the party you are communicating with. This is accomplished by one or both parties presenting trusted certificates during the connection initialization phase of TLS.

It is important to note that modules such as httplib within the Python standard library did not verify certificate chains until it was fixed in 2.7.9 release.

Details

Severity: Critical

Affected versions

PyPI

Package	Vulnerable	Fixed in
mindsdb	`< 23.7.4.0`	`23.7.4.0`
mindsdb	`< 23.7.4.0`	`23.7.4.0`

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

mindsdb PyPI → `23.7.4.0`

pip

pip install --upgrade "mindsdb>=23.7.4.0"

poetry

poetry add "mindsdb>=23.7.4.0"

uv

uv add "mindsdb>=23.7.4.0"

Severity breakdown

CVSS 3.1 9.1

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Attack vector: Network
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Weakness

CWE-311: Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data

The product does not encrypt sensitive or critical information before storage or transmission.

How to prevent it

Requirements: Clearly specify which data or resources are valuable enough that they should be protected by encryption. Require that any transmission or storage of this data/resource should use well-vetted encryption algorithms.
Architecture and Design: Ensure that encryption is properly integrated into the system design, including but not necessarily limited to: Encryption that is needed to store or transmit private data of the users of the system Encryption that is needed to protect the system itself from unauthorized disclosure or tampering Identify the separate needs and contexts for encryption: One-way (i.e., only the user or recipient needs to have the key). This can be achieved using public key cryptography, or other techniques in which the encrypting party (i.e., the product) does not need to have access to a private key. Two-way (i.e., the encryption can be automatically performed on behalf of a user, but the key must be available so that the plaintext can be automatically recoverable by that user). This requires storage of the private key in a format that is recoverable only by the user (or perhaps by the operating system) in a way that cannot be recovered by others. Using threat modeling or other techniques, assume that data can be compromised through a separate vulnerability or weakness, and determine where encryption will be most effective. Ensure that data that should be private is not being inadvertently exposed using weaknesses such as insecure permissions (CWE-732). [REF-7]
Architecture and Design: When there is a need to store or transmit sensitive data, use strong, up-to-date cryptographic algorithms to encrypt that data. Select a well-vetted algorithm that is currently considered to be strong by experts in the field, and use well-tested implementations. As with all cryptographic mechanisms, the source code should be available for analysis. For example, US government systems require FIPS 140-2 certification. Do not develop custom or private cryptographic algorithms. They will likely be exposed to attacks that are well-understood by cryptographers. Reverse engineering techniques are mature. If the algorithm can be compromised if attackers find out how it works, then it is especially weak. Periodically ensure that the cryptography has not become obsolete. Some older algorithms, once thought to require a billion years of computing time, can now be broken in days or hours. This includes MD4, MD5, SHA1, DES, and other algorithms that were once regarded as strong. [REF-267]
Architecture and Design: Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
Implementation, Architecture and Design: When using industry-approved techniques, use them correctly. Don't cut corners by skipping resource-intensive steps (CWE-325). These steps are often essential for preventing common attacks.
Implementation: Use naming conventions and strong types to make it easier to spot when sensitive data is being used. When creating structures, objects, or other complex entities, separate the sensitive and non-sensitive data as much as possible.

References

Advisories

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38699

Packages

github.com/mindsdb/mindsdb

Timeline

Aug 1, 2023 Published
Feb 13, 2025 Last updated by the source
Oct 31, 2026 Latest EPSS score

Advisory	Severity	Why it's related
GHSA-9f6m-65v9-x9g2 MindsDB has an Improper Access Control Issue	High	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-4894-xqv6-vrfq MindsDB: Path Traversal in /api/files Leading to Remote Code Execution	High	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-6xw9-2p64-7622 MindsDB affected by a SSRF vulnerability	High	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-qqhf-pm3j-96g7 MindsDB has improper sanitation of filepath that leads to information disclosure and DOS	Critical	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-32fj-r8qw-r8w8 MindsDB Cross-site Scripting vulnerability	Medium	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-crmg-rp64-5cm3 MindsDB Eval Injection vulnerability	High	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-wf9g-c67g-h4ch MindsDB Eval Injection vulnerability	High	Also affects mindsdb
GHSA-wcjw-3v6p-4v3r MindsDB Eval Injection vulnerability	High	Also affects mindsdb

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