Summary
json-smart Uncontrolled Recursion vulnerability
Workarounds
N/A
References
Impact
Affected versions of net.minidev:json-smart are vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) due to a StackOverflowError when parsing a deeply nested JSON array or object.
When reaching a ‘[‘ or ‘{‘ character in the JSON input, the code parses an array or an object respectively. It was discovered that the 3PP does not have any limit to the nesting of such arrays or objects. Since the parsing of nested arrays and objects is done recursively, nesting too many of them can cause stack exhaustion (stack overflow) and crash the software.
CVE-2023-1370 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (2.4.9); 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.
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This vulnerability was fixed in json-smart version 2.4.9, but the maintainer recommends upgrading to 2.4.10, due to a remaining bug.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-1370? CVE-2023-1370 is a high-severity security vulnerability in net.minidev:json-smart (maven), affecting versions < 2.4.9. It is fixed in 2.4.9.
- How severe is CVE-2023-1370? CVE-2023-1370 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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 net.minidev:json-smart are affected by CVE-2023-1370? net.minidev:json-smart (maven) versions < 2.4.9 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-1370? Yes. CVE-2023-1370 is fixed in 2.4.9. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-1370 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-1370 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-2023-1370 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-2023-1370? Upgrade
net.minidev:json-smartto 2.4.9 or later.