Resource exhaustion in Discourse

CVE-2024-24827

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Without a rate limit on the POST /uploads endpoint, it makes it easier for an attacker to carry out a DoS attack on the server since creating an upload can be a resource intensive process. Do note that the impact varies from site to site as various site settings like `max_image_size_kb`, `max_attachment_size_kb` and `max_image_megapixels` will determine the amount of resources used when creating an upload. The issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed version of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should reduce `max_image_size_kb`, `max_attachment_size_kb` and `max_image_megapixels` as smaller uploads require less resources to process. Alternatively, `client_max_body_size` can be reduced in Nginx to prevent large uploads from reaching the server.

Vulnerability class: DoS (Denial of Service)

EPSS: 0.006 (44.9th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.

Affected products

  • Discourse — versions stable <= 3.2.0, beta < 3.3.0.beta1, tests-passed < 3.3.0.beta1

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-24827?
CVE-2024-24827 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Discourse, classified under Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2024-03-15.
How severe is CVE-2024-24827?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-24827 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.