Users of Mirth Connect, an open-source data integration platform widely used in the healthcare industry, are being urgently advised to update to the latest version due to the identification of a critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability, known as CVE-2023-43208. This vulnerability was effectively addressed in version 4.4.1, released on October 6, 2023.
According to Horizon3.ai’s Naveen Sunkavally, this flaw is described as “an easily exploitable, unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability,” making it a significant security concern. Attackers could potentially exploit this vulnerability for initial access or to compromise sensitive healthcare data.
Mirth Connect, often referred to as the “Swiss Army knife of healthcare integration,” serves as a cross-platform interface engine, playing a pivotal role in facilitating data communication and exchange among various systems in the healthcare sector. In response to the discovery of the vulnerability, additional technical details have been deliberately withheld. Concerningly, this vulnerability impacts multiple Mirth Connect versions dating back to as early as 2015/2016.
Furthermore, it is essential to note that CVE-2023-43208 is identified as a patch bypass for CVE-2023-37679, a severe remote command execution (RCE) vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8. The latter was initially believed to affect servers running Java 8, but Horizon3.ai’s analysis has revealed that all instances of Mirth Connect, regardless of the Java version, are vulnerable to the issue.
Due to the ease with which this vulnerability can be exploited, and considering that exploitation techniques are widely known, it is strongly recommended that all Mirth Connect users, particularly those with publicly accessible instances, upgrade to version 4.4.1 promptly to mitigate potential security threats.
