CVE-2023-3446: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3p3x-vg38-6g9q

CVSS 5.3

Published 2023-07-19

Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-3446 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-606: Unchecked Input for Loop Condition) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not properly check inputs that are used for loop conditions, potentially leading to a denial of service or other consequences because of excessive looping.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-3446 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-3446

GHSA Identifier GHSA-3p3x-vg38-6g9q

Severity MODERATE

CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3

CWE Classification CWE-606: Unchecked Input for Loop Condition

Affected Product Software

Package Ecosystem Maven

Published Date 2023-07-19

Last Updated 2026-10-14

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality None (C:N)

Integrity None (I:N)

Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2023-3446

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

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-3446, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-606: Unchecked Input for Loop Condition, where the product does not properly check inputs that are used for loop conditions, potentially leading to a denial of service or other consequences because of excessive looping. In Software, 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

Issue summary: Checking excessively long DH keys or parameters may be very slow. Impact summary: Applications that use the functions DH_check(), DH_check_ex() or EVP_PKEY_param_check() to check a DH key or DH parameters may experience long delays. Where the key or parameters that are being checked have been obtained from an untrusted source this may lead to a Denial of Service. The function DH_check() performs various checks on DH parameters. One of those checks confirms that the modulus ('p' parameter) is not too large. Trying to use a very large modulus is slow and OpenSSL will not normally use a modulus which is over 10,000 bits in length. However the DH_check() function checks numerous aspects of the key or parameters that have been supplied. Some of those checks use the supplied modulus value even if it has already been found to be too large. An application that calls DH_check() and supplies a key or parameters obtained from an untrusted source could be vulernable to a Denial of Service attack. The function DH_check() is itself called by a number of other OpenSSL functions. An application calling any of those other functions may similarly be affected. The other functions affected by this are DH_check_ex() and EVP_PKEY_param_check(). Also vulnerable are the OpenSSL dhparam and pkeyparam command line applications when using the '-check' option. The OpenSSL SSL/TLS implementation is not affected by this issue. The OpenSSL 3.0 and 3.1 FIPS providers are not affected by this issue.

References

NVD — CVE-2023-3446 NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3446

www.openssl.org/news/secadv/2023071... WEB

https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230719.txt

Software Security Information SECURITY

https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230803-0011

Software Security Information SECURITY

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202402-08

lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/08/msg00019.html

git.openssl.org/gitweb/ WEB

https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=fc9867c1e03c22ebf56943be205202e576aabf23

git.openssl.org/gitweb/ WEB

https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=9a0a4d3c1e7138915563c0df4fe6a3f9377b839c

git.openssl.org/gitweb/ WEB

https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=8780a896543a654e757db1b9396383f9d8095528

git.openssl.org/gitweb/ WEB

https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=1fa20cf2f506113c761777127a38bce5068740eb

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-943925.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-915275.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-794697.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-769027.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-556635.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-341067.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-277137.html

cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB

https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-099606.html

Software Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/19/4

Software Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/19/5

Software Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/19/6

Software Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/31/1

Software Security Information SECURITY

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/05/16/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-3446?

CVE-2023-3446 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-606: Unchecked Input for Loop Condition.

Which Software versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.

What version fixes CVE-2023-3446?

Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-3446?

CVE-2023-3446 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.

What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-3446?

CVE-2023-3446 is classified under CWE-606: Unchecked Input for Loop Condition (The product does not properly check inputs that are used for loop conditions, potentially leading to a denial of service or other consequences because of excessive looping.).

How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-3446?

Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. 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

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  "published" : "2023-07-19T12:31:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-3446" ],
  "details" : "Issue summary: Checking excessively long DH keys or parameters may be very slow.\n\nImpact summary: Applications that use the functions DH_check(), DH_check_ex()\nor EVP_PKEY_param_check() to check a DH key or DH parameters may experience long\ndelays. Where the key or parameters that are being checked have been obtained\nfrom an untrusted source this may lead to a Denial of Service.\n\nThe function DH_check() performs various checks on DH parameters. One of those\nchecks confirms that the modulus ('p' parameter) is not too large. Trying to use\na very large modulus is slow and OpenSSL will not normally use a modulus which\nis over 10,000 bits in length.\n\nHowever the DH_check() function checks numerous aspects of the key or parameters\nthat have been supplied. Some of those checks use the supplied modulus value\neven if it has already been found to be too large.\n\nAn application that calls DH_check() and supplies a key or parameters obtained\nfrom an untrusted source could be vulernable to a Denial of Service attack.\n\nThe function DH_check() is itself called by a number of other OpenSSL functions.\nAn application calling any of those other functions may similarly be affected.\nThe other functions affected by this are DH_check_ex() and\nEVP_PKEY_param_check().\n\nAlso vulnerable are the OpenSSL dhparam and pkeyparam command line applications\nwhen using the '-check' option.\n\nThe OpenSSL SSL/TLS implementation is not affected by this issue.\nThe OpenSSL 3.0 and 3.1 FIPS providers are not affected by this issue.",
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    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-943925.html"
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    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-769027.html"
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  }, {
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  }, {
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  }
}

CVSS V3

5.3 MODERATE

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality None (C:N)

Integrity None (I:N)

Availability Low (A:L)

Vector String

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

Advisory Metadata

Source ID: GHSA-3p3x-vg38-6g9q
Schema Version: 1.4.0
Published: 2023-07-19 12:31
Last Modified: 2026-10-14 21:31
Database Record File: advisories/unreviewed/2023/07/GHSA-3p3x-vg38-6g9q/GHSA-3p3x-vg38-6g9q.json