CVE-2023-45812

Apollo Router vulnerable to Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions

Workarounds

For affected versions, avoid using the coprocessor supergraph response:

# do not use this stage in your coprocessor configuration
coprocessor:
  supergraph:
    response:

Or you can disable defer and subscriptions support:

# disable defer and subscriptions:
supergraph:
  defer_support: false # enabled by default
subscription:
  enabled: false # disabled by default

and continue to use the coprocessor supergraph response.

References

https://github.com/apollographql/router/issues/4013

The Apollo Router is a configurable, high-performance graph router written in Rust to run a federated supergraph that uses Apollo Federation. Affected versions are subject to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) type vulnerability which causes the Router to panic and terminate when a multi-part response is sent. When users send queries to the router that uses the @defer or Subscriptions, the Router will panic.

To be vulnerable, users of Router must have a coprocessor with coprocessor.supergraph.response configured in their router.yaml and also to support either @defer or Subscriptions.

CVE-2023-45812 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 (1.33.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

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Router version 1.33.0 has a fix for this vulnerability. https://github.com/apollographql/router/pull/4014 fixes the issue.

1. What is CVE-2023-45812? CVE-2023-45812 is a high-severity security vulnerability in apollo-router (rust), affecting versions >= 1.31.0, < 1.33.0. It is fixed in 1.33.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-45812? CVE-2023-45812 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.
3. Which versions of apollo-router are affected by CVE-2023-45812? apollo-router (rust) versions >= 1.31.0, < 1.33.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-45812? Yes. CVE-2023-45812 is fixed in 1.33.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-45812 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-45812 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2023-45812 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2023-45812? Upgrade apollo-router to 1.33.0 or later.

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