CVE-2025-6203: Github.com/hashicorp/vault Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8f82-53h8-2p34
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-6203 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Github.com/hashicorp/vault libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves hashicorp vault community edition denial of service though complex json payloads. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.20.3.

CVE-2025-6203 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-6203
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8f82-53h8-2p34
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Github.com/hashicorp/vault
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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:H).

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 High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2025-6203

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

github.com/hashicorp/vault fixed: 1.20.3 
Upgrade github.com/hashicorp/vault to 1.20.3
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 github.com/hashicorp/vault

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-6203, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/hashicorp/vault:

inspect dependencies for github.com/hashicorp/vault

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/hashicorp/vault in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.20.3), 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 Github.com/hashicorp/vault, 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

A malicious user may submit a specially-crafted complex payload that otherwise meets the default request size limit which results in excessive memory and CPU consumption of Vault. This may lead to a timeout in Vault’s auditing subroutine, potentially resulting in the Vault server to become unresponsive. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-6203, is fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.20.3 and Vault Enterprise 1.20.3, 1.19.9, 1.18.14, and 1.16.25.

CVE-2025-6203 Affected Github.com/hashicorp/vault Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.20.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/hashicorp/vault
golang/github.com/hashicorp/vault
Go
< 1.20.3
1.20.3

References

NVD — CVE-2025-6203 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6203
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/commit/eedc2b7426f30e57e306229ce697ce81e203ab89
discuss.hashicorp.com WEB
https://discuss.hashicorp.com
discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-24-vau... WEB
https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-24-vault-denial-of-service-though-complex-json-payloads/76393
Github.com/hashicorp/vault Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/hashicorp/vault

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-6203?
CVE-2025-6203 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/hashicorp/vault involving HashiCorp Vault Community Edition Denial of Service Though Complex JSON Payloads under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Github.com/hashicorp/vault versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.20.3 across affected packages: github.com/hashicorp/vault.
What version fixes CVE-2025-6203?
Upgrading to 1.20.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/hashicorp/vault affected?
Yes, github.com/hashicorp/vault is affected in releases prior to 1.20.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.20.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-6203?
CVE-2025-6203 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-6203?
CVE-2025-6203 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 Go dependencies for CVE-2025-6203?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/hashicorp/vault'. 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-8f82-53h8-2p34",
  "modified" : "2025-08-29T16:22:47Z",
  "published" : "2025-08-28T21:31:26Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-6203" ],
  "summary" : "HashiCorp Vault Community Edition Denial of Service Though Complex JSON Payloads",
  "details" : "A malicious user may submit a specially-crafted complex payload that otherwise meets the default request size limit which results in excessive memory and CPU consumption of Vault. This may lead to a timeout in Vault’s auditing subroutine, potentially resulting in the Vault server to become unresponsive. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-6203, is fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.20.3 and Vault Enterprise 1.20.3, 1.19.9, 1.18.14, and 1.16.25.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/hashicorp/vault"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.20.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6203"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/commit/eedc2b7426f30e57e306229ce697ce81e203ab89"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://discuss.hashicorp.com"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-24-vault-denial-of-service-though-complex-json-payloads/76393"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hashicorp/vault"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-08-29T16:22:47Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-08-28T20:15:43Z"
  }
}