What is CVE-2023-46234?

CVE-2023-46234 is a high-severity security vulnerability in browserify-sign (npm), affecting versions >= 2.6.0, <= 4.2.1. It is fixed in 4.2.2.

How severe is CVE-2023-46234?

CVE-2023-46234 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 browserify-sign are affected by CVE-2023-46234?

browserify-sign (npm) versions >= 2.6.0, <= 4.2.1 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-46234?

Yes. CVE-2023-46234 is fixed in 4.2.2. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2023-46234 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-46234 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-2023-46234 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-2023-46234 in browserify-sign

Q: How severe is CVE-2023-46234?

CVE-2023-46234 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 browserify-sign are affected by CVE-2023-46234?

browserify-sign (npm) versions >= 2.6.0, <= 4.2.1 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2023-46234?

Yes. CVE-2023-46234 is fixed in 4.2.2. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2023-46234 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-46234 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-2023-46234 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-2023-46234?

Upgrade browserify-sign to 4.2.2 or later.

Summary

browserify-sign upper bound check issue in dsaVerify leads to a signature forgery attack

An upper bound check issue in dsaVerify function allows an attacker to construct signatures that can be successfully verified by any public key, thus leading to a signature forgery attack.

Details

In dsaVerify function, it checks whether the value of the signature is legal by calling function checkValue, namely, whether r and s are both in the interval [1, q - 1]. However, the second line of the checkValue function wrongly checks the upper bound of the passed parameters, since the value of b.cmp(q) can only be 0, 1 and -1, and it can never be greater than q.

In this way, although the values of s cannot be 0, an attacker can achieve the same effect as zero by setting its value to q, and then send (r, s) = (1, q) to pass the verification of any public key.

Fix PR:

Since the temporary private fork was deleted, here's a webarchive of the PR discussion and diff pages: PR webarchive.zip

Impact

All places in this project that involve DSA verification of user-input signatures will be affected by this vulnerability.

CVE-2023-46234 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 (4.2.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

browserify-sign (>= 2.6.0, <= 4.2.1)

Security releases

browserify-sign → 4.2.2 (npm)

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 browserify-sign to 4.2.2 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-2023-46234? CVE-2023-46234 is a high-severity security vulnerability in browserify-sign (npm), affecting versions >= 2.6.0, <= 4.2.1. It is fixed in 4.2.2.
How severe is CVE-2023-46234? CVE-2023-46234 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 browserify-sign are affected by CVE-2023-46234? browserify-sign (npm) versions >= 2.6.0, <= 4.2.1 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2023-46234? Yes. CVE-2023-46234 is fixed in 4.2.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2023-46234 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-46234 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-2023-46234 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-2023-46234? Upgrade browserify-sign to 4.2.2 or later.