What is CVE-2023-30844?

CVE-2023-30844 is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (go), affecting versions < 0.16.6. It is fixed in 0.16.6, 0.17.1.

How severe is CVE-2023-30844?

CVE-2023-30844 has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). 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 packages are affected by CVE-2023-30844?

github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (go) versions < 0.16.6; github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (go) versions < 0.17.1.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-30844?

Yes. CVE-2023-30844 is fixed in 0.16.6, 0.17.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2023-30844 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-30844 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2023-30844 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-2023-30844?

Upgrade: github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen to 0.16.6 or later, github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose to 0.17.1 or later, github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen to 0.17.1 or later.

CVE-2023-30844 in github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen

Q: How severe is CVE-2023-30844?

CVE-2023-30844 has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). 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.

Q: Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-30844?

github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (go) versions < 0.16.6; github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (go) versions < 0.17.1.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2023-30844?

Yes. CVE-2023-30844 is fixed in 0.16.6, 0.17.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2023-30844 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-30844 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2023-30844 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2023-30844?

Upgrade: github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen to 0.16.6 or later, github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose to 0.17.1 or later, github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen to 0.17.1 or later.

Summary

Mutagen list and monitor operations do not neutralize control characters in text controlled by remote endpoints

Workarounds

Avoiding synchronization of untrusted files or interaction with untrusted remote endpoints should mitigate any risk.

References

A similar issue can be seen in kubernetes/kubernetes#101695.

Impact

Mutagen command line operations, as well as the log output from mutagen daemon run, are susceptible to control characters that could be provided by remote endpoints. This can cause terminal corruption, either intentional or unintentional, if these characters are present in error messages, file paths/names, and/or log output. This could be used as an attack vector if synchronizing with an untrusted remote endpoint, synchronizing files not under control of the user, or forwarding to/from an untrusted remote endpoint. On very old systems with terminals susceptible to issues such as CVE-2003-0069, the issue could theoretically cause code execution.

CVE-2023-30844 has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (0.16.6, 0.17.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (< 0.16.6) github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (< 0.17.1) github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (>= 0.17.0, < 0.17.1)

Security releases

github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen → 0.16.6 (go) github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose → 0.17.1 (go) github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen → 0.17.1 (go)

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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Remediation advice

The problem has been patched in Mutagen v0.16.6 and v0.17.1. Earlier versions of Mutagen are no longer supported and will not be patched. Versions of Mutagen after v0.18.0 will also have the patch merged.

One caveat is that the templating functionality of Mutagen's list and monitor commands has been only partially patched. In particular, the json template function already provided escaping and no patching was necessary. However, raw template output has been left unescaped because this raw output may be necessary for commands which embed Mutagen. To aid these commands, a new shellSanitize template function has been added which provides control character neutralization in strings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-30844? CVE-2023-30844 is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (go), affecting versions < 0.16.6. It is fixed in 0.16.6, 0.17.1.
How severe is CVE-2023-30844? CVE-2023-30844 has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). 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 packages are affected by CVE-2023-30844?
- github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (go) (versions < 0.16.6)
- github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (go) (versions < 0.17.1)
Is there a fix for CVE-2023-30844? Yes. CVE-2023-30844 is fixed in 0.16.6, 0.17.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2023-30844 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-30844 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-2023-30844 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-2023-30844?
- Upgrade github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen to 0.16.6 or later
- Upgrade github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose to 0.17.1 or later
- Upgrade github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen to 0.17.1 or later

Other vulnerabilities in github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen

CVE-IDSeverityPackage summary

GHSA-FWJ4-72FM-C93GLowgithub.com/mutagen-io/mutagen: Under-validated ComSpec and cmd.exe resolution in Mutagen projects