Summary
CubeFS timing attack can leak user passwords
A vulnerability was found during in the CubeFS master component that could allow an untrusted attacker to steal user passwords by carrying out a timing attack. The root case of the vulnerability was that CubeFS used raw string comparison of passwords.
The vulnerable part of CubeFS was the UserService of the master component. The UserService gets instantiated when starting the server of the master component.
CubeFS has not seen any evidence of this being exploited in the wild. The vulnerability was found during a security audit conducted by Ada Logics in collaboration with OSTIF and the CNCF.
The issue has been patched in v3.3.1. For impacted users, there is no other way to mitigate the issue besides upgrading.
Impact
CVE-2023-46739 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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 (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-2023-46739? CVE-2023-46739 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/cubefs/cubefs (go), affecting versions < 3.3.1. It is fixed in 3.3.1.
- How severe is CVE-2023-46739? CVE-2023-46739 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-2023-46739? github.com/cubefs/cubefs (go) versions < 3.3.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-46739? Yes. CVE-2023-46739 is fixed in 3.3.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-46739 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-46739 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-2023-46739 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-2023-46739? Upgrade
github.com/cubefs/cubefsto 3.3.1 or later.