CVE-2023-43645: Denial of service from circular relationship definitions in OpenFGA
Overview OpenFGA is vulnerable to a DoS attack when certain Check calls are executed against authorization models that contain circular relationship definitions. When the call is made, it's possible for the server to exhaust resources and die.
Am I Affected? Yes, if your store contains an authorization model that allows circular relationships. For example, with this model:
model schema 1.1
type user
type group relations define memberA: [user] or memberB or memberC or memberD or memberE define memberB: [user] or memberA or memberC or memberD or memberE define memberC: [user] or memberA or memberB or memberD or memberE define memberD: [user] or memberA or memberB or memberC or memberE define memberE: [user] or memberA or memberB or memberC or memberD
This Check: (user:anne, memberA, group:X) can exhaust memory in the server.
Fix Upgrade to v1.3.2 and update any offending models.
[BREAKING] If your model contained cycles or a relation definition that has the relation itself in its evaluation path, then Checks and queries that require evaluation will no longer be evaluated on v1.3.2+ and will return errors instead. You will need to update your models to remove the cycles.
Other sources
OpenFGA is an authorization/permission engine built for developers and inspired by Google Zanzibar. OpenFGA is vulnerable to a denial of service attack when certain Check calls are executed against authorization models that contain circular relationship definitions. When the call is made, it's possible for the server to exhaust resources and die. Users are advised to upgrade to v1.3.2 and update any offending models. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Note that for models which contained cycles or a relation definition that has the relation itself in its evaluation path, checks and queries that require evaluation will no longer be evaluated on v1.3.2+ and will return errors instead. Users who do not have cyclic models are unaffected.
Affected Software
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the vulnerability severity of CVE-2023-43645?
The vulnerability severity of CVE-2023-43645 is medium with a CVSS score of 5.9.
How does CVE-2023-43645 affect OpenFGA?
CVE-2023-43645 affects OpenFGA by enabling a Denial of Service (DoS) attack when certain Check calls are executed against authorization models with circular relationship definitions.
How can I determine if I am affected by CVE-2023-43645?
If your store contains an authorization model with circular relationship definitions, then you are affected by CVE-2023-43645.
How do I fix CVE-2023-43645?
To fix CVE-2023-43645, update your OpenFGA installation to version 1.3.2 or higher.
Where can I find more information about CVE-2023-43645?
More information about CVE-2023-43645 can be found in the following references: [GitHub Commit](https://github.com/openfga/openfga/commit/725296025fd81227c89525808652c6acd4a605f6), [GitHub Security Advisory](https://github.com/openfga/openfga/security/advisories/GHSA-2hm9-h873-pgqh), [NVD](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-43645).