GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h
github.com/ipfs/kubo affected by DOS Bitswap unbounded persistent memory leak
GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in github.com/ipfs/kubo, published May 11, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in github.com/ipfs/kubo 0.19.0.
- Severity
- 5.3 MediumCVSS 3.1, GitHub Advisories
- Exploit chance
- UnscoredNo EPSS score yet
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
0.19.0github.com/ipfs/kubo
Description
Impact
An attacker is able allocate arbitrarily many bytes in the Bitswap server by sending many WANT_BLOCK and or WANT_HAVE requests which are queued in an unbounded queue, with allocations that persist even if the connection is closed.
This affects users accepting or connecting untrusted connections such as by running in the public swarm and no pnet config. Nodes that are not publicly reachable but connects to untrusted nodes are also vulnerable to the untrusted nodes being connected to since libp2p connections are blindly bidirectional.
Patches
- 19feb15833c6f4d6e7f1e1b132efaae96d76481d
boxoupdate in Kubo - GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 patches in boxo
Workarounds
Use PNET, swarm filters or resource manager allows list to block untrusted connections.
Note that using the resource manager will disrupt both client and server features because the bitswap protocol is a message based protocol mixing requests and responses.
References
- GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5
- CVE-2023-25568
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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/ipfs/kuboGo | before 0.19.0 | 0.19.0 |
What each source reports
GitHub Advisories Score used
github.com/ipfs/kubo affected by DOS Bitswap unbounded persistent memory leak
Impact
An attacker is able allocate arbitrarily many bytes in the Bitswap server by sending many WANT_BLOCK and or WANT_HAVE requests which are queued in an unbounded queue, with allocations that persist even if the connection is closed.
This affects users accepting or connecting untrusted connections such as by running in the public swarm and no pnet config. Nodes that are not publicly reachable but connects to untrusted nodes are also vulnerable to the untrusted nodes being connected to since libp2p connections are blindly bidirectional.
Patches
- 19feb15833c6f4d6e7f1e1b132efaae96d76481d
boxoupdate in Kubo - GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 patches in boxo
Workarounds
Use PNET, swarm filters or resource manager allows list to block untrusted connections.
Note that using the resource manager will disrupt both client and server features because the bitswap protocol is a message based protocol mixing requests and responses.
References
- GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5
- CVE-2023-25568
- Record
GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-400, CWE-770
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
github.com/ipfs/kubo affected by DOS Bitswap unbounded persistent memory leak
Impact
An attacker is able allocate arbitrarily many bytes in the Bitswap server by sending many WANT_BLOCK and or WANT_HAVE requests which are queued in an unbounded queue, with allocations that persist even if the connection is closed.
This affects users accepting or connecting untrusted connections such as by running in the public swarm and no pnet config. Nodes that are not publicly reachable but connects to untrusted nodes are also vulnerable to the untrusted nodes being connected to since libp2p connections are blindly bidirectional.
Patches
- 19feb15833c6f4d6e7f1e1b132efaae96d76481d
boxoupdate in Kubo - GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 patches in boxo
Workarounds
Use PNET, swarm filters or resource manager allows list to block untrusted connections.
Note that using the resource manager will disrupt both client and server features because the bitswap protocol is a message based protocol mixing requests and responses.
References
- GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5
- CVE-2023-25568
- Record
GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-400, CWE-770
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | GitHub Advisories, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.