Resource exhaustion in Discourse

CVE-2023-23616

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, when submitting a membership request, there is no character limit for the reason provided with the request. This could potentially allow a user to flood the database with a large amount of data. However it is unlikely this could be used as part of a DoS attack, as the paths reading back the reasons are only available to administrators. Starting in version 3.0.1 on the `stable` branch and 3.1.0.beta2 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a limit of 280 characters has been introduced for membership requests.

Vulnerability class: DoS (Denial of Service)

EPSS: 0.007 (48.6th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 3.5 (Low). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-23616?
CVE-2023-23616 is a low-severity vulnerability in Discourse, classified under Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. CVSS score: 3.5/10. Published 2023-01-28.
How severe is CVE-2023-23616?
Low severity. CVSS v3 base score is 3.5 out of 10.