GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7: Surrealdb Denial of Service Vulnerability

LOW
Share
CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7 is a LOW denial of service vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Surrealdb libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves surrealdb no javascript script function default timeout could facilitate dos. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.2.2, 2.0.5, 2.1.5.

GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Surrealdb
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Surrealdb dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

surrealdb fixed: 2.2.2 
Upgrade surrealdb to 2.2.2
surrealdb fixed: 2.0.5 
Upgrade surrealdb to 2.0.5
surrealdb fixed: 2.1.5 
Upgrade surrealdb to 2.1.5
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for surrealdb

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7, inspect your project dependencies for Surrealdb:

inspect dependencies for surrealdb

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Surrealdb in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.2.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Surrealdb, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Through enabling the scripting capability. SurrealDB allows for advanced functions with complicated logic, by allowing embedded functions to be written in JavaScript. These functions are bounded for memory and stack size, but not in time. An attacker could launch a number of long running functions that could potentially facilitate a Denial Of Service attack. This vulnerability can only affect SurrealDB servers explicitly enabling the scripting capability with `--allow-scripting` or `--allow-all` and equivalent environment variables `SURREAL_CAPS_ALLOW_SCRIPT=true` and `SURREAL_CAPS_ALLOW_ALL=true`. This issue was discovered and patched during an code audit and penetration test of SurrealDB by cure53, the severity defined within cure53's preliminary finding is Low, matched by our CVSS v4 assessment. ### Impact An attacker can use the scripting capabilities of SurrealDB to run a series of long running functions to facilitate a Denial Of Service attack. ### Patches A default timeout for the scripting functions has been implemented with a configurable `SURREAL_SCRIPTING_MAX_TIME_LIMIT` environment variable - Versions 2.0.5, 2.1.5, 2.2.2 and later are not affected by this issue. ### Workarounds For users that cannot upgrade. Deny execution of embedded scripting functions through the configuration of [capabilities](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealdb/security/capabilities#capabilities) by starting SurrealDB with the `--deny-scripting` flag or the equivalent environment variable `SURREAL_CAPS_DENY_SCRIPT=true`. This has a usability implication, although scripting functions are disabled by default. ### References [5597](https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/pull/5597) [SurrealDB Documentation - Capabilities](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealdb/security/capabilities) [SurrealQL Documentation - Scripting Functions](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealql/functions/script)

GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7 Affected Surrealdb Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.2.22.0.52.1.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
surrealdb
 crates.io
≥ 2.2.0
< 2.2.2
2.2.2
surrealdb
 crates.io
< 2.0.5
2.0.5
surrealdb
 crates.io
≥ 2.1.0
< 2.1.5
2.1.5

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/security/advisories/GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7
Surrealdb Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/pull/5597
Surrealdb Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7?
GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7 is a security vulnerability in Surrealdb involving SurrealDB no JavaScript script function default timeout could facilitate DoS under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Surrealdb versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.2.2, 2.0.5, 2.1.5 across affected packages: surrealdb.
What version fixes GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7?
Upgrading to 2.2.2, 2.0.5, 2.1.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is surrealdb affected?
Yes, surrealdb is affected in releases prior to 2.2.2, 2.0.5, 2.1.5. Upgrade your dependency to 2.2.2, 2.0.5, 2.1.5 or later.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7?
GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7 is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for surrealdb'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7",
  "modified" : "2025-04-11T14:08:45Z",
  "published" : "2025-04-11T14:08:45Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "SurrealDB no JavaScript script function default timeout could facilitate DoS",
  "details" : "Through enabling the scripting capability. SurrealDB allows for advanced functions with complicated logic, by allowing embedded functions to be written in JavaScript.\n\nThese functions are bounded for memory and stack size, but not in time. An attacker could launch a number of long running functions that could potentially facilitate a Denial Of Service attack.\n\nThis vulnerability can only affect SurrealDB servers explicitly enabling the scripting capability with `--allow-scripting` or\n`--allow-all` and equivalent environment variables `SURREAL_CAPS_ALLOW_SCRIPT=true` and `SURREAL_CAPS_ALLOW_ALL=true`.\n\nThis issue was discovered and patched during an code audit and penetration test of SurrealDB by cure53, the severity defined within cure53's preliminary finding is Low, matched by our CVSS v4 assessment.\n\n### Impact\nAn attacker can use the scripting capabilities of SurrealDB to run a series of long running functions to facilitate a Denial Of Service attack.\n\n### Patches\nA default timeout for the scripting functions has been implemented with a configurable `SURREAL_SCRIPTING_MAX_TIME_LIMIT` environment variable\n\n- Versions 2.0.5, 2.1.5, 2.2.2 and later are not affected by this issue.\n\n### Workarounds\nFor users that cannot upgrade. Deny execution of embedded scripting functions through the configuration of [capabilities](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealdb/security/capabilities#capabilities) by starting SurrealDB with the `--deny-scripting` flag or the equivalent environment variable `SURREAL_CAPS_DENY_SCRIPT=true`. This has a usability implication, although scripting functions are disabled by default.\n\n### References\n[5597](https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/pull/5597)\n[SurrealDB Documentation - Capabilities](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealdb/security/capabilities)\n[SurrealQL Documentation - Scripting Functions](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealql/functions/script)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "surrealdb"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.2.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "surrealdb"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.0.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "surrealdb"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.1.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/security/advisories/GHSA-3824-qmfq-2qv7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/pull/5597"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-04-11T14:08:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}