CVE-2023-40591: Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-ppjg-v974-84cm
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-40591 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves go-ethereum vulnerable to denial of service via malicious p2p message. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.12.1-stable.

CVE-2023-40591 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-40591
GHSA Identifier GHSA-ppjg-v974-84cm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum
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-2023-40591

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum 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/ethereum/go-ethereum fixed: 1.12.1-stable 
Upgrade github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum to 1.12.1-stable
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/ethereum/go-ethereum

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-40591, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum:

inspect dependencies for github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.12.1-stable), 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum, 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

### Impact A vulnerable node, can be made to consume unbounded amounts of memory when handling specially crafted p2p messages sent from an attacker node. ### Details The p2p handler spawned a new goroutine to respond to `ping` requests. By flooding a node with ping requests, an unbounded number of goroutines can be created, leading to resource exhaustion and potentially crash due to OOM. ### Patches The fix is included in geth version `1.12.1-stable`, i.e, `1.12.2-unstable` and onwards. Fixed by https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/pull/27887 ### Workarounds No known workarounds. ### Credits This bug was reported by Patrick McHardy and reported via [bounty@ethereum.org](mailto:bounty@ethereum.org). ### References

CVE-2023-40591 Affected Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.12.1-stable
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum
golang/github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum
Go
< 1.12.1-stable
1.12.1-stable

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/security/advisories/GHSA-ppjg-v974-84cm
NVD — CVE-2023-40591 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40591
geth.ethereum.org/docs/developers/get... WEB
https://geth.ethereum.org/docs/developers/geth-developer/disclosures
Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum
Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Release RELEASE
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/releases/tag/v1.12.1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-40591?
CVE-2023-40591 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum involving Go-Ethereum vulnerable to denial of service via malicious p2p message under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.12.1-stable across affected packages: github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum.
What version fixes CVE-2023-40591?
Upgrading to 1.12.1-stable (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum affected?
Yes, github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum is affected in releases prior to 1.12.1-stable. Upgrade your dependency to 1.12.1-stable or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-40591?
CVE-2023-40591 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-2023-40591?
CVE-2023-40591 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2023-40591?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum'. 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-ppjg-v974-84cm",
  "modified" : "2023-11-08T17:39:39Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-06T19:49:46Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-40591" ],
  "summary" : "Go-Ethereum vulnerable to denial of service via malicious p2p message",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nA vulnerable node, can be made to consume unbounded amounts of memory when handling specially crafted p2p messages sent from an attacker node.\n\n### Details\n\nThe p2p handler spawned a new goroutine to respond to `ping` requests. By flooding a node with ping requests, an unbounded number of goroutines can be created, leading to resource exhaustion and potentially crash due to OOM.\n\n### Patches\n\nThe fix is included in geth version `1.12.1-stable`, i.e, `1.12.2-unstable` and onwards. \n\nFixed by https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/pull/27887\n\n### Workarounds\n\nNo known workarounds. \n\n### Credits\n\nThis bug was reported by Patrick McHardy and reported via [bounty@ethereum.org](mailto:bounty@ethereum.org). \n\n### References\n\n",
  "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/ethereum/go-ethereum"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.12.1-stable"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/security/advisories/GHSA-ppjg-v974-84cm"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40591"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://geth.ethereum.org/docs/developers/geth-developer/disclosures"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/releases/tag/v1.12.1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-09-06T19:49:46Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-06T19:15:44Z"
  }
}