Summary
When installing module packages from attacker-controlled sources, tofu init may cause high CPU usage when encountering maliciously-crafted .zip archives for either provider or module distribution packages.
Those who depend on modules or providers served from untrusted third-party servers may experience denial of service due to tofu init failing to complete in a timely manner. Other processes running on the same computer as OpenTofu may also have their performance degraded due to the high CPU usage.
These vulnerabilities do not permit arbitrary code execution or allow disclosure of confidential information.
Details
OpenTofu relies on a third-party implementation of .zip archive extraction from the standard library of the Go programming language. The Go project has recently published a minor release (Go 1.25.6) to address a problem of potential excessive CPU usage when accessing files in a maliciously-crafted .zip archive.
OpenTofu's threat model considers module and package dependencies to be arbitrary third-party code that operators must carefully review after installation. However, this particular problem affects the process of installing these dependencies with tofu init, and so can potentially occur before an operator has had the opportunity to review what is being installed.
An attacker can exploit this by controlling the content of a package served when OpenTofu is expecting to receive a archive using the .zip format, during either provider or module package installation.
However, the attacker must also coerce an OpenTofu operator into attempting dependency installation from a source that they control. Typical use of OpenTofu already requires caution in selection of third-party dependencies because they are arbitrary code, and so the vulnerability here is only in the addition of a potential denial of service in the tofu init process, which does not execute third-party dependency code itself.
Workarounds
These vulnerabilities can be exploited only if an attacker can coerce an operator to add a dependency from an attacker-controlled source to their configuration before running tofu init. Those who are unable to immediately upgrade can therefore minimize risk by reviewing new dependencies before adding them to the configuration, such as by directly fetching the relevant artifacts using software other than OpenTofu.
Successful exploitation requires that the attacker control a .zip archive that OpenTofu would fetch and extract during the provider or module installation processes. Note that OpenTofu modules can have their own dependencies on other providers and modules, so an attacker could potentially use a module served from a source such as GitHub or the OpenTofu Registry to indirectly request a provider or module package from a server that they control.
References
Impact
Unauthenticated denial of service.
GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 has a CVSS score of 3.1 (Low). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (1.11.4); 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
OpenTofu v1.11.4 addresses these vulnerabilities by being built against Go 1.25.6, which contains an improved version of the upstream implementation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8? GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/opentofu/opentofu (go), affecting versions < 1.11.4. It is fixed in 1.11.4.
- How severe is GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8? GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 has a CVSS score of 3.1 (Low). 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/opentofu/opentofu are affected by GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8? github.com/opentofu/opentofu (go) versions < 1.11.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8? Yes. GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 is fixed in 1.11.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 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-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8 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-R92C-9C7F-3PJ8? Upgrade
github.com/opentofu/opentofuto 1.11.4 or later.