CVE-2023-38498
Discourse vulnerable to DoS via defer queue
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Discourse vulnerable to DoS via defer queue
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.
- Record
CVE-2023-38498- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-400, CWE-770
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-42305
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.
- Record
EUVD-2023-42305- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.
- Record
CVE-2023-38498- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400, CWE-770
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Discourse vulnerable to DoS via defer queue
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.
- Record
CVE-2023-38498- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-400, CWE-770
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-discourse-2023-38498 No score
Discourse vulnerable to DoS via defer queue
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.
- Record
BIT-discourse-2023-38498- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
discourseBitnami |
before 3.0.6 | 3.0.6 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-38498 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.3) in Discourse, published July 28, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.70%, the 53rd percentile. Fixed in discourse 3.0.6.