CVE-2023-46129
xkeys Seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
xkeys Seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
CVE-2023-46129- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-321, CWE-325
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-2780
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
EUVD-2023-2780- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-mr45-rx8q-wcm9
xkeys seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption
Background
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing.
The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts.
Problem Description
The nkeys library's "xkeys" encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key.
This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY.
Affected versions
nkeys Go library:
- 0.4.0 up to and including 0.4.5
- Fixed with nats-io/nkeys: 0.4.6
NATS Server:
- 2.10.0 up to and including 2.10.3
- Fixed with nats-io/nats-server: 2.10.4
Solution
Upgrade the nats-server.
For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
Credits
Problem reported by Quentin Matillat (GitHub @tinou98).
- Record
GHSA-mr45-rx8q-wcm9- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-321, CWE-325
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
CVE-2023-46129- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-321, CWE-325
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2023-46129
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2023-46129- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSVAZL-31792
CVE-2023-46129 affecting package telegraf for versions less than 1.27.4-1
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
AZL-31792- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 7 moreShow less
OSVAZL-35298
CVE-2023-46129 affecting package telegraf for versions less than 1.29.4-1
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
AZL-35298- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
xkeys Seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
CVE-2023-46129- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-321, CWE-325
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-46129
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing. FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-46129- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-mr45-rx8q-wcm9
xkeys seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption
Background
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing.
The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts.
Problem Description
The nkeys library's "xkeys" encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key.
This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY.
Affected versions
nkeys Go library:
- 0.4.0 up to and including 0.4.5
- Fixed with nats-io/nkeys: 0.4.6
NATS Server:
- 2.10.0 up to and including 2.10.3
- Fixed with nats-io/nats-server: 2.10.4
Solution
Upgrade the nats-server.
For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
Credits
Problem reported by Quentin Matillat (GitHub @tinou98).
- Record
GHSA-mr45-rx8q-wcm9- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-321, CWE-325
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-46129
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing. FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-46129- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-nats-2023-46129 No score
xkeys Seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's xkeys encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing.
FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.
- Record
BIT-nats-2023-46129- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGO-2023-2163 No score
Curve KeyPairs fail to encrypt in github.com/nats-io/nkeys
Curve KeyPairs always use the same (all-zeros) key to encrypt data, and provide no security.
- Record
GO-2023-2163- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/nats-io/nkeysGo |
0.4.0 to 0.4.5 | 0.4.6 |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2Go |
2.10.0 to 2.10.3 | 2.10.4 |
nats-serverAlpine:v3.19 |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4-r0 | 2.10.4-r0 |
nats-serverAlpine:v3.20 |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4-r0 | 2.10.4-r0 |
nats-serverAlpine:v3.21 |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4-r0 | 2.10.4-r0 |
nats-serverAlpine:v3.22 |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4-r0 | 2.10.4-r0 |
nats-serverAlpine:v3.23 |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4-r0 | 2.10.4-r0 |
nats-serverAlpine:v3.24 |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4-r0 | 2.10.4-r0 |
telegrafAzure Linux:2 |
before 1.27.4-1 | 1.27.4-1 |
telegrafAzure Linux:3 |
before 1.29.4-1 | 1.29.4-1 |
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| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
natsBitnami |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4 | 2.10.4 |
golang-github-nats-io-nkeysDebian:13 |
before 0.4.6-1 | 0.4.6-1 |
golang-github-nats-io-nkeysDebian:14 |
before 0.4.6-1 | 0.4.6-1 |
nats-serverDebian:13 |
before 2.10.4-1 | 2.10.4-1 |
nats-serverDebian:14 |
before 2.10.4-1 | 2.10.4-1 |
github.com/nats-io/nkeysGo |
0.4.0 up to 0.4.6 | 0.4.6 |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2Go |
2.10.0 up to 2.10.4 | 2.10.4 |
golang-github-nats-io-nkeysUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.0~git20181103.f9a6cff-1 |
None known |
golang-github-nats-io-nkeysUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.0~git20181103.f9a6cff-1.1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, aliases, references | OSV | |
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-46129 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Linuxfoundation Nats-server, published October 30, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.45%, the 38th percentile. Fixed in github.com/nats-io/nkeys 0.4.6.
References
github.com/nats-io/nkeys/security/advisories/GHSA-mr45-rx8q-wcm9
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/31/1
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/ULQQONMSCQSH5Z5OWFFQHCGEZ3NL4DRJ
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46129
Show 8 moreShow less
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-46129
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-46129
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-46129
advisories.nats.io/CVE/secnote-2023-02.txt
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46129