What is CVE-2023-37279?

CVE-2023-37279 is a high-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in github.com/contribsys/faktory (go), affecting versions < 1.8.0. It is fixed in 1.8.0. The application allocates resources such as memory, threads, or file descriptors based on untrusted input without enforcing a cap.

How severe is CVE-2023-37279?

CVE-2023-37279 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 github.com/contribsys/faktory are affected by CVE-2023-37279?

github.com/contribsys/faktory (go) versions < 1.8.0 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37279?

Yes. CVE-2023-37279 is fixed in 1.8.0. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2023-37279 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-37279 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-2023-37279 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.

CVE-2023-37279 in github.com/contribsys/faktory

Q: How severe is CVE-2023-37279?

CVE-2023-37279 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.

Q: Which versions of github.com/contribsys/faktory are affected by CVE-2023-37279?

github.com/contribsys/faktory (go) versions < 1.8.0 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37279?

Yes. CVE-2023-37279 is fixed in 1.8.0. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2023-37279 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-37279 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-2023-37279 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-2023-37279?

Upgrade github.com/contribsys/faktory to 1.8.0 or later.

Summary

Faktory Web Dashboard can lead to denial of service(DOS) via malicious user input

Faktory web dashboard can suffer from denial of service by a crafted malicious url query param days.

Details

The vulnerability is related to how the backend reads the days URL query parameter in the Faktory web dashboard. The value is used directly without any checks to create a string slice. If a very large value is provided, the backend server ends up using a significant amount of memory and causing it to crash.

PoC

To reproduce this vulnerability, please follow these steps:

Start the Faktory Docker and limit memory usage to 512 megabytes for better demonstration:

$ docker run --rm -it -m 512m \
  -p 127.0.0.1:7419:7419 \
  -p 127.0.0.1:7420:7420 \
  contribsys/faktory:latest

Send the following request. The Faktory server will exit after a few seconds due to out of memory:

$ curl 'http://localhost:7420/?days=922337'

Impact

Server Availability: The vulnerability can crash the Faktory server, affecting its availability.
Denial of Service Risk: Given that the Faktory web dashboard does not require authorization, any entity with internet access to the dashboard could potentially exploit this vulnerability. This unchecked access opens up the potential for a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, which could disrupt service availability without any conditional barriers to the attacker.

The application allocates resources such as memory, threads, or file descriptors based on untrusted input without enforcing a cap. Typical impact: resource exhaustion leading to denial of service.

CVE-2023-37279 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 (1.8.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

github.com/contribsys/faktory (< 1.8.0)

Security releases

github.com/contribsys/faktory → 1.8.0 (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

Upgrade github.com/contribsys/faktory to 1.8.0 or later to resolve this vulnerability.

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-37279? CVE-2023-37279 is a high-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in github.com/contribsys/faktory (go), affecting versions < 1.8.0. It is fixed in 1.8.0. The application allocates resources such as memory, threads, or file descriptors based on untrusted input without enforcing a cap.
How severe is CVE-2023-37279? CVE-2023-37279 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 github.com/contribsys/faktory are affected by CVE-2023-37279? github.com/contribsys/faktory (go) versions < 1.8.0 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37279? Yes. CVE-2023-37279 is fixed in 1.8.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2023-37279 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-37279 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-2023-37279 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-2023-37279? Upgrade github.com/contribsys/faktory to 1.8.0 or later.