CVE-2023-1428: Grpc protobuf GRPC Reachable Assertion Issue Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6628-q6j9-w8vg
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-617
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-1428 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) grpc reachable assertion issue vulnerability (CWE-617: Reachable Assertion) affecting Grpc protobuf libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves grpc reachable assertion issue. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.53.0.

CVE-2023-1428 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-1428
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6628-q6j9-w8vg
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-617: Reachable Assertion
Affected Product Grpc protobuf
Package Ecosystem Maven
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-2023-1428

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

io.grpc:grpc-protobuf fixed: 1.53.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>io.grpc</groupId>
    <artifactId>grpc-protobuf</artifactId>
    <version>1.53.0</version>
</dependency>
grpcio fixed: 1.53.0 
pip install grpcio>=1.53.0
grpc fixed: 1.53.0 
Upgrade grpc to 1.53.0
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 -Dincludes=io.grpc

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-1428, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.grpc

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Grpc protobuf in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.53.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.grpc 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-617: Reachable Assertion, where the product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. In Grpc protobuf, 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

There exists an vulnerability causing an abort() to be called in gRPC.  The following headers cause gRPC's C++ implementation to abort() when called via http2: te: x (x != trailers) :scheme: x (x != http, https) grpclb_client_stats: x (x == anything) On top of sending one of those headers, a later header must be sent that gets the total header size past 8KB. We recommend upgrading past git commit 2485fa94bd8a723e5c977d55a3ce10b301b437f8 or v1.53 and above.

CVE-2023-1428 Affected Grpc protobuf Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.53.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
io.grpc:grpc-protobuf
maven/io.grpc/grpc-protobuf
Maven
≥ 1.51.0
< 1.53.0
1.53.0
grpcio
pypi/grpcio
PyPI
≥ 1.51.0
< 1.53.0
1.53.0
grpc
gem/grpc
RubyGems
≥ 1.51.0
< 1.53.0
1.53.0

References

NVD — CVE-2023-1428 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1428
Grpc protobuf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/grpc/grpc/issues/33463
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/grpc/grpc/commit/2485fa94bd8a723e5c977d55a3ce10b301b437f8
Grpc protobuf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/grpc/CVE-2023-1428.yml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-1428?
CVE-2023-1428 is a security vulnerability in Grpc protobuf involving gRPC Reachable Assertion issue under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion.
Which Grpc protobuf versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.53.0 across affected packages: io.grpc:grpc-protobuf, grpcio, grpc.
What version fixes CVE-2023-1428?
Upgrading to 1.53.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is grpc-protobuf affected?
Yes, io.grpc:grpc-protobuf is affected in releases prior to 1.53.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.53.0 or later.
Is grpcio affected?
Yes, grpcio is affected in releases prior to 1.53.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.53.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-1428?
CVE-2023-1428 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-2023-1428?
CVE-2023-1428 is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion (The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-1428?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.grpc'. 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-6628-q6j9-w8vg",
  "modified" : "2025-08-13T15:05:17Z",
  "published" : "2023-07-06T21:15:08Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-1428" ],
  "summary" : "gRPC Reachable Assertion issue",
  "details" : "There exists an vulnerability causing an abort() to be called in gRPC. \nThe following headers cause gRPC's C++ implementation to abort() when called via http2:\n\nte: x (x != trailers)\n\n:scheme: x (x != http, https)\n\ngrpclb_client_stats: x (x == anything)\n\nOn top of sending one of those headers, a later header must be sent that gets the total header size past 8KB. We recommend upgrading past git commit 2485fa94bd8a723e5c977d55a3ce10b301b437f8 or v1.53 and above.",
  "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" : "Maven",
      "name" : "io.grpc:grpc-protobuf"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.51.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.53.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "grpcio"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.51.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.53.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "grpc"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.51.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.53.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1428"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/grpc/grpc/issues/33463"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/grpc/grpc/commit/2485fa94bd8a723e5c977d55a3ce10b301b437f8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/grpc/CVE-2023-1428.yml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-617" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-07-06T23:56:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-06-09T11:15:09Z"
  }
}