Vulnerabilities in pkg:npm/libp2p

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-f44q-634c-jvwv
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-23487 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Libp2p libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves libp2p dos vulnerability from lack of resource management. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.38.0.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:npm/libp2p

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:npm/libp2p. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-f44q-634c-jvwv CVE-2022-23487 HIGH libp2p DoS vulnerability from lack of resource management

CVE-2022-23487 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-23487
GHSA Identifier GHSA-f44q-634c-jvwv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Libp2p
Package Ecosystem npm
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-2022-23487

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Libp2p dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

libp2p fixed: 0.38.0
npm install libp2p@0.38.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

npm ls libp2p

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2022-23487, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls libp2p

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Libp2p in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.38.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls libp2p command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

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 Libp2p, 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

### Impact Versions older than `v0.38.0` of js-libp2p are vulnerable to targeted resource exhaustion attacks. These attacks target libp2p’s connection, stream, peer, and memory management. An attacker can cause the allocation of large amounts of memory, ultimately leading to the process getting killed by the host’s operating system. While a connection manager tasked with keeping the number of connections within manageable limits has been part of js-libp2p, this component was designed to handle the regular churn of peers, not a targeted resource exhaustion attack. ### Patches (What to do as a js-libp2p consumer:) Update your js-libp2p dependency to `v0.38.0` or greater. ### Workarounds There are no workarounds, and so we recommend to upgrade your js-libp2p version. Some range of attacks can be mitigated using OS tools (like manually blocking malicious peers using iptables or ufw ) or making use of a load balancer in front of libp2p nodes. You can also use the [allow deny list in js-libp2p](https://docs.libp2p.io/concepts/security/dos-mitigation/#deny-specific-peers-or-create-an-allow-list-of-trusted-peers) to deny specific peers. However these require direct action & responsibility on your part and are no substitutes for upgrading js-libp2p. Therefore, we highly recommend upgrading your js-libp2p version for the way it enables tighter scoped limits and provides visibility into and easier reasoning about js-libp2p resource utilization. ### References * DoS Mitigation page for more information on how to incorporate mitigation strategies, monitor your application, and respond to attacks: https://docs.libp2p.io/reference/dos-mitigation/. * Documentation on how to configure limits to prevent excessive resource consumption: https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p/blob/master/doc/LIMITS.md * Documentation on how to configure metrics: https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p/blob/master/doc/METRICS.md Please see the related disclosure for go-libp2p: https://github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p/security/advisories/GHSA-j7qp-mfxf-8xjw and rust-libp2p: https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p/security/advisories/GHSA-jvgw-gccv-q5p8 #### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [security@libp2p.io](mailto:security@libp2p.io).

CVE-2022-23487 Affected Libp2p Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.38.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
libp2p
npm
< 0.38.0
0.38.0

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-23487?
CVE-2022-23487 is a security vulnerability in Libp2p involving libp2p DoS vulnerability from lack of resource management under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Libp2p versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.38.0 across affected packages: libp2p.
What version fixes CVE-2022-23487?
Upgrading to 0.38.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is libp2p affected?
Yes, libp2p is affected in releases prior to 0.38.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.38.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-23487?
CVE-2022-23487 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-2022-23487?
CVE-2022-23487 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 npm dependencies for CVE-2022-23487?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls libp2p'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-f44q-634c-jvwv",
  "modified" : "2023-07-14T21:52:56Z",
  "published" : "2022-12-07T23:23:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-23487" ],
  "summary" : "libp2p DoS vulnerability from lack of resource management",
  "details" : "### Impact\nVersions older than `v0.38.0` of js-libp2p are vulnerable to targeted resource exhaustion attacks. These attacks target libp2p’s connection, stream, peer, and memory management. An attacker can cause the allocation of large amounts of memory, ultimately leading to the process getting killed by the host’s operating system. While a connection manager tasked with keeping the number of connections within manageable limits has been part of js-libp2p, this component was designed to handle the regular churn of peers, not a targeted resource exhaustion attack.\n\n### Patches (What to do as a js-libp2p consumer:)\nUpdate your js-libp2p dependency to `v0.38.0` or greater.\n\n### Workarounds\nThere are no workarounds, and so we recommend to upgrade your js-libp2p version.\nSome range of attacks can be mitigated using OS tools (like manually blocking malicious peers using iptables or ufw ) or making use of a load balancer in front of libp2p nodes.\nYou can also use the [allow deny list in js-libp2p](https://docs.libp2p.io/concepts/security/dos-mitigation/#deny-specific-peers-or-create-an-allow-list-of-trusted-peers) to deny specific peers.\n\nHowever these require direct action & responsibility on your part and are no substitutes for upgrading js-libp2p. Therefore, we highly recommend upgrading your js-libp2p version for the way it enables tighter scoped limits and provides visibility into and easier reasoning about js-libp2p resource utilization.\n\n### References\n* DoS Mitigation page for more information on how to incorporate mitigation strategies, monitor your application, and respond to attacks: https://docs.libp2p.io/reference/dos-mitigation/. \n* Documentation on how to configure limits to prevent excessive resource consumption: https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p/blob/master/doc/LIMITS.md\n* Documentation on how to configure metrics: https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p/blob/master/doc/METRICS.md\n\nPlease see the related disclosure for go-libp2p: https://github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p/security/advisories/GHSA-j7qp-mfxf-8xjw and rust-libp2p: https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p/security/advisories/GHSA-jvgw-gccv-q5p8 \n\n#### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [security@libp2p.io](mailto:security@libp2p.io).",
  "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" : "npm",
      "name" : "libp2p"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.38.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p/security/advisories/GHSA-f44q-634c-jvwv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23487"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-07T23:23:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-12-07T21:15:00Z"
  }
}