CVE-2023-46118: Rabbit common Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w6cq-9cf4-gqpg
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CVSS 4.9
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-46118 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.9) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Rabbit common libraries in the Hex ecosystem. The issue involves rabbitmq vulnerable to denial of service by publishing large messages over the http api. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.12.7, 3.11.24.

CVE-2023-46118 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-46118
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w6cq-9cf4-gqpg
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.9
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Rabbit common
Package Ecosystem Hex
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.9

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
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-2023-46118

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

rabbit_common fixed: 3.12.7 
Upgrade rabbit_common to 3.12.7
rabbit_common fixed: 3.11.24 
Upgrade rabbit_common to 3.11.24
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 rabbit_common

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-46118, inspect your project dependencies for Rabbit common:

inspect dependencies for rabbit_common

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Rabbit common in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.12.7), 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 Rabbit common, 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

### Summary Responsibly disclosed by @NSEcho. HTTP API did not enforce an HTTP request body limit, making it vulnerable for DoS attacks with very large messages. ### Details An authenticated user with sufficient credentials can publish a very large messages over the HTTP API and cause target node to be terminated by an "out-of-memory killer"-like mechanism. A PoC was provided to Team RabbitMQ privately. ### Impact Denial of Service

CVE-2023-46118 Affected Rabbit common Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.12.73.11.24
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
rabbit_common
 Hex
≥ 3.12.0
< 3.12.7
3.12.7
rabbit_common
 Hex
≥ 3.11.0
< 3.11.24
3.11.24

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/security/advisories/GHSA-w6cq-9cf4-gqpg
NVD — CVE-2023-46118 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46118
Rabbit common Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00009.html
Rabbit common Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5571

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-46118?
CVE-2023-46118 is a security vulnerability in Rabbit common involving RabbitMQ vulnerable to Denial of Service by publishing large messages over the HTTP API under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Rabbit common versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.12.7, 3.11.24 across affected packages: rabbit_common.
What version fixes CVE-2023-46118?
Upgrading to 3.12.7, 3.11.24 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is rabbit_common affected?
Yes, rabbit_common is affected in releases prior to 3.12.7, 3.11.24. Upgrade your dependency to 3.12.7, 3.11.24 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-46118?
CVE-2023-46118 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.9 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-46118?
CVE-2023-46118 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 Hex dependencies for CVE-2023-46118?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for rabbit_common'. 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-w6cq-9cf4-gqpg",
  "modified" : "2026-06-30T16:39:12Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-30T16:39:12Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-46118" ],
  "summary" : "RabbitMQ vulnerable to Denial of Service by publishing large messages over the HTTP API",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nResponsibly disclosed by @NSEcho.\n\nHTTP API did not enforce an HTTP request body limit, making it vulnerable for DoS attacks with very large messages. \n\n### Details\n\nAn authenticated user with sufficient credentials can publish a very large messages over the HTTP API\nand cause target node to be terminated by an \"out-of-memory killer\"-like mechanism.\n\nA PoC was provided to Team RabbitMQ privately.\n\n### Impact\n\nDenial of Service",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Hex",
      "name" : "rabbit_common"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.12.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.12.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Hex",
      "name" : "rabbit_common"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.11.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.11.24"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/security/advisories/GHSA-w6cq-9cf4-gqpg"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46118"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00009.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5571"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-06-30T16:39:12Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-10-25T18:17:36Z"
  }
}