CVE-2023-26112: Configobj Denial of Service Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c33w-24p9-8m24
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CVSS 3.7
CWE-1333
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-26112 is a LOW (CVSS 3.7) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) affecting Configobj libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves configobj redos exploitable by developer using values in a server-side configuration file. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.0.9.

CVE-2023-26112 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-26112
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c33w-24p9-8m24
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 3.7
CWE Classification CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Affected Product Configobj
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 3.7

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2023-26112

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

configobj fixed: 5.0.9 
pip install configobj>=5.0.9
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 configobj

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-26112, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show configobj

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Configobj in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.0.9), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show configobj 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 Configobj, 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

All versions of the package configobj are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the validate function, using (.+?)\((.*)\). **Note:** This is only exploitable in the case of a developer, putting the offending value in a server side configuration file.

CVE-2023-26112 Affected Configobj Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.0.9
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
configobj
pypi/configobj
PyPI
< 5.0.9
5.0.9

References

NVD — CVE-2023-26112 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-26112
Configobj Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj/issues/232
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj/commit/7c618b0bbaff6ecaca51a6f05b29795d1377a4a5
Configobj Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6BO4RLMYEJODCNUE3DJIIUUFVTPAG6VN
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NZHY7B33EFY4LESP2NI4APQUPRROTAZK
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PYU4IHVLOTYMFPH7KDOJGKZQR4GKWPFK
pypi.org/project/configobj/5... WEB
https://pypi.org/project/configobj/5.0.9
Configobj Security Information SECURITY
https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-PYTHON-CONFIGOBJ-3252494

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-26112?
CVE-2023-26112 is a security vulnerability in Configobj involving configobj ReDoS exploitable by developer using values in a server-side configuration file under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity.
Which Configobj versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.0.9 across affected packages: configobj.
What version fixes CVE-2023-26112?
Upgrading to 5.0.9 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is configobj affected?
Yes, configobj is affected in releases prior to 5.0.9. Upgrade your dependency to 5.0.9 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-26112?
CVE-2023-26112 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 3.7 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-26112?
CVE-2023-26112 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-2023-26112?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show configobj'. 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-c33w-24p9-8m24",
  "modified" : "2024-12-16T22:46:10Z",
  "published" : "2023-04-03T06:30:19Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-26112" ],
  "summary" : "configobj ReDoS exploitable by developer using values in a server-side configuration file",
  "details" : "All versions of the package configobj are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the validate function, using (.+?)\\((.*)\\). **Note:** This is only exploitable in the case of a developer, putting the offending value in a server side configuration file.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "configobj"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.0.9"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-26112"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj/issues/232"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj/commit/7c618b0bbaff6ecaca51a6f05b29795d1377a4a5"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6BO4RLMYEJODCNUE3DJIIUUFVTPAG6VN"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NZHY7B33EFY4LESP2NI4APQUPRROTAZK"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PYU4IHVLOTYMFPH7KDOJGKZQR4GKWPFK"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pypi.org/project/configobj/5.0.9"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-PYTHON-CONFIGOBJ-3252494"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1333" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-04-04T21:40:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-04-03T05:15:00Z"
  }
}