---
title: "CVE-2023-43791: Label Studio has Hardcoded Django `SECRET_KEY` that can be Abused to Forge Session Tokens"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2023-43791/
description: "CVE-2023-43791 (label-studio (PyPI)): Label Studio is a multi-type data labeling and annotation tool with standardized output format. There is a…"
type: vulnerability-record
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2023-11-09
date_modified: 2024-11-22
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
cve: "CVE-2023-43791"
kev: false
cvss: 9.8
epss: 0.01241
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# CVE-2023-43791: Label Studio has Hardcoded Django `SECRET_KEY` that can be Abused to Forge Session Tokens

**Signal:** Critical and remotely reachable. No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. (Computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS; not an editorial verdict.)

## Should you act?

- Not in CISA KEV , but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
- EPSS 1.2% , percentile 69: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.2% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 69% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes label-studio (PyPI) < 1.8.2, fixed in 1.8.2 . Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

## What it is

Label Studio is a multi-type data labeling and annotation tool with standardized output format. There is a vulnerability that can be chained within the ORM Leak vulnerability to impersonate any account on Label Studio. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to escalate their privileges from a low privilege user to a Django Super Administrator user. The vulnerability was found to affect versions before 1.8.2, where a patch was introduced.

## Affected packages

- PyPI `label-studio` < 1.8.2 → fixed: 1.8.2

## Affected products (CVE record)

- HumanSignal label-studio: <= 1.8.1

## Severity

- GitHub_M CVSS 3.1: 9.8 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`
- GitHub CVSS 3.1: 9.8 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`

## Exploitation

- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc , automatable yes , technical impact total .
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 1.24% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 69.

## Sources

- [GitHub Advisory GHSA-f475-x83m-rx5m](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-f475-x83m-rx5m)
- [CVE.org record CVE-2023-43791](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-43791)
- [NVD entry CVE-2023-43791](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-43791)
- [github.com](https://github.com/HumanSignal/label-studio/security/advisories/GHSA-f475-x83m-rx5m)
- [github.com](https://github.com/HumanSignal/label-studio/pull/4690)
- [github.com](https://github.com/HumanSignal/label-studio/commit/3d06c5131c15600621e08b06f07d976887cde81b)
- [github.com](https://github.com/HumanSignal/label-studio/releases/tag/1.8.2)
- [github.com](https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/label-studio/PYSEC-2023-274.yaml)

---
Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2023-43791/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt