CVE-2024-8185: Github.com/hashicorp/vault Denial of Service Vulnerability

Q: What is CVE-2024-8185?

CVE-2024-8185 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/hashicorp/vault involving Hashicorp Vault vulnerable to denial of service through memory exhaustion under CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open').

Q: Which Github.com/hashicorp/vault versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 1.18.1, 2.0.3 across affected packages: github.com/hashicorp/vault, github.com/openbao/openbao.

Q: What version fixes CVE-2024-8185?

Upgrading to 1.18.1, 2.0.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Q: Is github.com/hashicorp/vault affected?

Yes, github.com/hashicorp/vault is affected in releases prior to 1.18.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.18.1 or later.

Q: Is github.com/openbao/openbao affected?

Yes, github.com/openbao/openbao is affected in releases prior to 2.0.3. Upgrade your dependency to 2.0.3 or later.

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-8185?

CVE-2024-8185 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.

Q: What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-8185?

CVE-2024-8185 is classified under CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open') (When the product encounters an error condition or failure, its design requires it to fall back to a state that is less secure than other options that are available, such as selecting the weakest encryption algorithm or using the most permissive access control restrictions.).

Q: How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2024-8185?

Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/hashicorp/vault'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

HIGH

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g233-2p4r-3q7v

CVSS 7.5

CWE-636

Published 2024-10-31

Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-8185 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open')) affecting Github.com/hashicorp/vault libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves hashicorp vault vulnerable to denial of service through memory exhaustion. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.18.1, 2.0.3.

CVE-2024-8185 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-8185

GHSA Identifier GHSA-g233-2p4r-3q7v

Severity HIGH

CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5

CWE Classification CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open')

Affected Product Github.com/hashicorp/vault

Package Ecosystem Go

Published Date 2024-10-31

Last Updated 2025-08-04

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-2024-8185

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

github.com/hashicorp/vault fixed: 1.18.1

Upgrade github.com/hashicorp/vault to 1.18.1

github.com/openbao/openbao fixed: 2.0.3

Upgrade github.com/openbao/openbao to 2.0.3

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 github.com/hashicorp/vault

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2024-8185, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/hashicorp/vault:

inspect dependencies for github.com/hashicorp/vault

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/hashicorp/vault in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.18.1), 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-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open'), where when the product encounters an error condition or failure, its design requires it to fall back to a state that is less secure than other options that are available, such as selecting the weakest encryption algorithm or using the most permissive access control restrictions. In Github.com/hashicorp/vault, 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

Vault Community and Vault Enterprise (“Vault”) clusters using Vault’s Integrated Storage backend are vulnerable to a denial-of-service (DoS) attack through memory exhaustion through a Raft cluster join API endpoint. An attacker may send a large volume of requests to the endpoint which may cause Vault to consume excessive system memory resources, potentially leading to a crash of the underlying system and the Vault process itself. This vulnerability, CVE-2024-8185, is fixed in Vault Community 1.18.1 and Vault Enterprise 1.18.1, 1.17.8, and 1.16.12.

CVE-2024-8185 Affected Github.com/hashicorp/vault Versions

2 component(s)

Fixed Versions:

1.18.12.0.3

Product / Package	Ecosystem	Affected Versions	Fixed Version
github.com/hashicorp/vault golang/github.com/hashicorp/vault	Go	≥ 1.2.0 < 1.18.1	1.18.1
github.com/openbao/openbao golang/github.com/openbao/openbao	Go	< 2.0.3	2.0.3

References

NVD — CVE-2024-8185 NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-8185

Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT

https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/commit/195dfca433028887973f5bd82d173d91fe9dab4a

discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2024-26-vau... WEB

https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2024-26-vault-vulnerable-to-denial-of-service-through-memory-exhaustion-when-processing-raft-cluster-join-requests/71047

Github.com/hashicorp/vault Source Repository REPOSITORY

https://github.com/hashicorp/vault

openbao.org/docs/release-notes/... WEB

https://openbao.org/docs/release-notes/2-0-0/#203

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-8185?

CVE-2024-8185 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/hashicorp/vault involving Hashicorp Vault vulnerable to denial of service through memory exhaustion under CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open').

Which Github.com/hashicorp/vault versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 1.18.1, 2.0.3 across affected packages: github.com/hashicorp/vault, github.com/openbao/openbao.

What version fixes CVE-2024-8185?

Upgrading to 1.18.1, 2.0.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Is github.com/hashicorp/vault affected?

Yes, github.com/hashicorp/vault is affected in releases prior to 1.18.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.18.1 or later.

Is github.com/openbao/openbao affected?

Yes, github.com/openbao/openbao is affected in releases prior to 2.0.3. Upgrade your dependency to 2.0.3 or later.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-8185?

CVE-2024-8185 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-2024-8185?

CVE-2024-8185 is classified under CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open') (When the product encounters an error condition or failure, its design requires it to fall back to a state that is less secure than other options that are available, such as selecting the weakest encryption algorithm or using the most permissive access control restrictions.).

How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2024-8185?

Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/hashicorp/vault'. 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-g233-2p4r-3q7v",
  "modified" : "2025-08-04T20:59:51Z",
  "published" : "2024-10-31T18:31:19Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-8185" ],
  "summary" : "Hashicorp Vault vulnerable to denial of service through memory exhaustion",
  "details" : "Vault Community and Vault Enterprise (“Vault”) clusters using Vault’s Integrated Storage backend are vulnerable to a denial-of-service (DoS) attack through memory exhaustion through a Raft cluster join API endpoint. An attacker may send a large volume of requests to the endpoint which may cause Vault to consume excessive system memory resources, potentially leading to a crash of the underlying system and the Vault process itself.\n\nThis vulnerability, CVE-2024-8185, is fixed in Vault Community 1.18.1 and Vault Enterprise 1.18.1, 1.17.8, and 1.16.12.",
  "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" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/hashicorp/vault"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.18.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/openbao/openbao"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.0.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-8185"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/commit/195dfca433028887973f5bd82d173d91fe9dab4a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2024-26-vault-vulnerable-to-denial-of-service-through-memory-exhaustion-when-processing-raft-cluster-join-requests/71047"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hashicorp/vault"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://openbao.org/docs/release-notes/2-0-0/#203"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-636" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-10-31T20:46:33Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-10-31T16:15:06Z"
  }
}

CVSS V3

7.5 HIGH