CVE-2023-45363: Mediawiki/core Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w5fx-cx7f-6vr9
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-835
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-45363 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')) affecting Mediawiki/core libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves mediawiki denial of service vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1.

CVE-2023-45363 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-45363
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w5fx-cx7f-6vr9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Affected Product Mediawiki/core
Package Ecosystem Packagist
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-2023-45363

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

mediawiki/core fixed: 1.35.12 
Upgrade mediawiki/core to 1.35.12
mediawiki/core fixed: 1.39.5 
Upgrade mediawiki/core to 1.39.5
mediawiki/core fixed: 1.40.1 
Upgrade mediawiki/core to 1.40.1
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 mediawiki/core

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-45363, inspect your project dependencies for Mediawiki/core:

inspect dependencies for mediawiki/core

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Mediawiki/core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.35.12), 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-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'), where the product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. In Mediawiki/core, 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

An issue was discovered in ApiPageSet.php in MediaWiki before 1.35.12, 1.36.x through 1.39.x before 1.39.5, and 1.40.x before 1.40.1. It allows attackers to cause a denial of service (unbounded loop and RequestTimeoutException) when querying pages redirected to other variants with redirects and converttitles set.

CVE-2023-45363 Affected Mediawiki/core Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.35.121.39.51.40.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
mediawiki/core
 Packagist
< 1.35.12
1.35.12
mediawiki/core
 Packagist
≥ 1.36.0
< 1.39.5
1.39.5
mediawiki/core
 Packagist
≥ 1.40.0
< 1.40.1
All 1 versions
1.40.0
1.40.1

References

NVD — CVE-2023-45363 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45363
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki/commit/24c3ef2474c6daa20ed48168d46196a55346dfd8
Mediawiki/core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/11/msg00027.html
phabricator.wikimedia.org/t333050 WEB
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T333050
Mediawiki/core Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5520

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-45363?
CVE-2023-45363 is a security vulnerability in Mediawiki/core involving MediaWiki Denial of Service vulnerability under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop').
Which Mediawiki/core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1 across affected packages: mediawiki/core.
What version fixes CVE-2023-45363?
Upgrading to 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is mediawiki/core affected?
Yes, mediawiki/core is affected in releases prior to 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-45363?
CVE-2023-45363 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-2023-45363?
CVE-2023-45363 is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') (The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2023-45363?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for mediawiki/core'. 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-w5fx-cx7f-6vr9",
  "modified" : "2024-10-30T18:06:32Z",
  "published" : "2023-10-09T06:30:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-45363" ],
  "summary" : "MediaWiki Denial of Service vulnerability",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in ApiPageSet.php in MediaWiki before 1.35.12, 1.36.x through 1.39.x before 1.39.5, and 1.40.x before 1.40.1. It allows attackers to cause a denial of service (unbounded loop and RequestTimeoutException) when querying pages redirected to other variants with redirects and converttitles set.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "mediawiki/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.35.12"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "mediawiki/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.36.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.39.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "mediawiki/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.40.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.40.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "1.40.0" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45363"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki/commit/24c3ef2474c6daa20ed48168d46196a55346dfd8"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/11/msg00027.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T333050"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5520"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-835" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-10-30T18:06:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-10-09T05:15:09Z"
  }
}