Summary
A vulnerability was identified in Consul and Consul Enterprise (“Consul”) an authenticated user with service:write permissions could trigger a workflow that causes Consul server and client agents to crash under certain circumstances. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker requires access to an ACL token with service:write permissions, and there needs to be at least one running ingress or API gateway that is configured to route traffic to an upstream service.
Impact
The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash. Typical impact: denial of service via crash.
CVE-2023-0845 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.14.5); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-0845? CVE-2023-0845 is a medium-severity null pointer dereference vulnerability in github.com/hashicorp/consul (go), affecting versions >= 1.14.0, < 1.14.5. It is fixed in 1.14.5. The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash.
- How severe is CVE-2023-0845? CVE-2023-0845 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/hashicorp/consul are affected by CVE-2023-0845? github.com/hashicorp/consul (go) versions >= 1.14.0, < 1.14.5 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-0845? Yes. CVE-2023-0845 is fixed in 1.14.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-0845 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-0845 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-0845 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-0845? Upgrade
github.com/hashicorp/consulto 1.14.5 or later.