Summary
Authenticated users can crash the CubeFS servers with maliciously crafted requests
A security vulnerability was found in CubeFS HandlerNode that could allow authenticated users to send maliciously-crafted requests that would crash the ObjectNode and deny other users from using it. The root cause was improper handling of incoming HTTP requests that could allow an attacker to control the ammount of memory that the ObjectNode would allocate. A malicious request could make the ObjectNode allocate more memory that the machine had available, and the attacker could exhaust memory by way of a single malicious request.
An attacker would need to be authenticated in order to invoke the vulnerable code with their malicious request and have permissions to delete objects. In addition, the attacker would need to know the names of existing buckets of the CubeFS deployment - otherwise the request would be rejected before it reached the vulnerable code. As such, the most likely attacker is an inside user or an attacker that has breached the account of an existing user in the cluster. There is no evidence of this attack being exploited in the wild. The vulnerability was found during a security audit carried out by Ada Logics in collaboration with OSTIF and the CNCF.
The issue has been patched in v3.3.1. There is no other mitigation besides upgrading.
Impact
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-2023-46738 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (3.3.1); 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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-46738? CVE-2023-46738 is a high-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in github.com/cubefs/cubefs (go), affecting versions < 3.3.1. It is fixed in 3.3.1. The application allocates resources such as memory, threads, or file descriptors based on untrusted input without enforcing a cap.
- How severe is CVE-2023-46738? CVE-2023-46738 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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/cubefs/cubefs are affected by CVE-2023-46738? github.com/cubefs/cubefs (go) versions < 3.3.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-46738? Yes. CVE-2023-46738 is fixed in 3.3.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-46738 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-46738 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-2023-46738 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-2023-46738? Upgrade
github.com/cubefs/cubefsto 3.3.1 or later.