Summary
The /api/create endpoint accepted negative expire query values. For the memory storage backend, negative values were passed to secret creation as a negative duration and treated as no expiry, allowing callers to create secrets that persisted longer than intended.
Affected versions
Versions up to and including v1.21.4 are affected.
Patched versions
Fixed in v1.21.5.
Workarounds
Disable expiry overrides via disableExpiryOverride: true until upgrading.
Credit
Reported by Chai Cheng Xun via email.
Impact
Unauthenticated users could bypass configured retention expectations for secrets they create by sending POST /api/create?expire=-1.
This does not allow reading or modifying secrets created by other users. Secrets remain one-time-read and, in the normal web flow, client-side encrypted.
The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.
GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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 (1.21.5); 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.
Remediation advice
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM? GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM is a medium-severity improper input validation vulnerability in github.com/Luzifer/ots (go), affecting versions <= 1.21.4. It is fixed in 1.21.5. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
- How severe is GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM? GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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/Luzifer/ots are affected by GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM? github.com/Luzifer/ots (go) versions <= 1.21.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM? Yes. GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM is fixed in 1.21.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM 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 GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM 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 GHSA-H5FQ-653G-GXRM? Upgrade
github.com/Luzifer/otsto 1.21.5 or later.