CVE-2023-30608: Sqlparse Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rrm6-wvj7-cwh2
CVSS 5.5
CWE-1333
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-30608 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) affecting Sqlparse libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves sqlparse contains a regular expression that is vulnerable to regular expression denial of service. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.4.4.

CVE-2023-30608 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-30608
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rrm6-wvj7-cwh2
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Affected Product Sqlparse
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-30608

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

sqlparse fixed: 0.4.4
pip install sqlparse>=0.4.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

pip show sqlparse

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-30608, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show sqlparse

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Sqlparse in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.4.4), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show sqlparse command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity, where the product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential. In Sqlparse, 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 The SQL parser contains a regular expression that is vulnerable to [ReDoS](https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Regular_expression_Denial_of_Service_-_ReDoS) (Regular Expression Denial of Service). The vulnerability may lead to Denial of Service (DoS). ### Patches This issues has been fixed in sqlparse 0.4.4. ### Workarounds None. ### References This issue was discovered and reported by GHSL team member [@erik-krogh (Erik Krogh Kristensen)](https://github.com/erik-krogh). - Commit that introduced the vulnerability: e75e35869473832a1eb67772b1adfee2db11b85a

CVE-2023-30608 Affected Sqlparse Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.4.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
sqlparse
PyPI
≥ 0.1.15
< 0.4.4
0.4.4

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-30608?
CVE-2023-30608 is a security vulnerability in Sqlparse involving sqlparse contains a regular expression that is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity.
Which Sqlparse versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.4.4 across affected packages: sqlparse.
What version fixes CVE-2023-30608?
Upgrading to 0.4.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is sqlparse affected?
Yes, sqlparse is affected in releases prior to 0.4.4. Upgrade your dependency to 0.4.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-30608?
CVE-2023-30608 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-30608?
CVE-2023-30608 is classified under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity (The product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-30608?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show sqlparse'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-rrm6-wvj7-cwh2",
  "modified" : "2025-11-04T16:43:46Z",
  "published" : "2023-04-21T20:24:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-30608" ],
  "summary" : "sqlparse contains a regular expression that is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service",
  "details" : "### Impact\nThe SQL parser contains a regular expression that is vulnerable to [ReDoS](https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Regular_expression_Denial_of_Service_-_ReDoS) (Regular Expression Denial of Service). The vulnerability may lead to Denial of Service (DoS).\n\n### Patches\nThis issues has been fixed in sqlparse 0.4.4.\n\n### Workarounds\nNone. \n\n### References\nThis issue was discovered and reported by GHSL team member [@erik-krogh (Erik Krogh Kristensen)](https://github.com/erik-krogh).\n- Commit that introduced the vulnerability: e75e35869473832a1eb67772b1adfee2db11b85a",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "sqlparse"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.1.15"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.4.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse/security/advisories/GHSA-rrm6-wvj7-cwh2"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-30608"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse/commit/c457abd5f097dd13fb21543381e7cfafe7d31cfb"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse/commit/e75e35869473832a1eb67772b1adfee2db11b85a"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/sqlparse/PYSEC-2023-87.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/05/msg00017.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/12/msg00022.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Regular_expression_Denial_of_Service_-_ReDoS"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1333" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-04-21T20:24:21Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-04-18T22:15:08Z"
  }
}