Summary
Description
A malformed or tampered-with LookupResources Cursor token can cause a panic in the SpiceDB process if it fails to parse. If an attacker were able to make requests to a SpiceDB instance, they could affect its availability.
Reproduction
If one was to take a cursor from a LookupResources call, decode it according to the logic that SpiceDB uses, and modify the Sections field to include an invalid relationship string, the process will panic.
Mechanism
The SpiceDB process does not validate the contents of this Sections component of the Cursor message. In affected versions, it uses a parsing function that calls panic if the value cannot be parsed as a relationship.
Remediations
- Prevent client control of the
optional_cursorfield inLookupResourcescalls - Upgrade to an unaffected version
Impact
An attacker would need both the ability to create a gRPC connection to your SpiceDB instance and a valid token, or else the ability to pass a cursor token from outside your application through to your SpiceDB instance.
If an attacker had this ability, they could bring down SpiceDB instances, reducing the availability of SpiceDB and any service that depends on it.
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
This issue was fixed in https://github.com/authzed/spicedb/pull/2878.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q? GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/authzed/spicedb (go), affecting versions >= 1.29.3, < 1.49.1. It is fixed in 1.49.1.
- Which versions of github.com/authzed/spicedb are affected by GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q? github.com/authzed/spicedb (go) versions >= 1.29.3, < 1.49.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q? Yes. GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q is fixed in 1.49.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q 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-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q 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-VHVQ-FV9F-WH4Q? Upgrade
github.com/authzed/spicedbto 1.49.1 or later.