CVE-2023-46118: Denial of Service by publishing large messages over the HTTP API

Published Oct 24, 2023
·
Updated

Summary

Responsibly disclosed by @NSEcho.

HTTP API did not enforce an HTTP request body limit, making it vulnerable for DoS attacks with very large messages.

Details

An authenticated user with sufficient credentials can publish a very large messages over the HTTP API and cause target node to be terminated by an "out-of-memory killer"-like mechanism.

A PoC was provided to Team RabbitMQ privately.

Impact

Denial of Service

Other sources

RabbitMQ is a multi-protocol messaging and streaming broker. HTTP API did not enforce an HTTP request body limit, making it vulnerable for denial of service (DoS) attacks with very large messages. An authenticated user with sufficient credentials can publish a very large messages over the HTTP API and cause target node to be terminated by an "out-of-memory killer"-like mechanism. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 3.11.24 and 3.12.7.

Affected Software

5 affected componentsFixes available
debian/rabbitmq-server<=3.7.8-4, <=3.8.9-3
3.8.2-1+deb10u23.8.9-3+deb11u13.10.8-1.1+deb12u13.10.8-3
VMware RabbitMQ<3.11.24
VMware RabbitMQ>=3.12.0<3.12.7
erlang/rabbit_common>=3.11.0<3.11.24
3.11.24
erlang/rabbit_common>=3.12.0<3.12.7
3.12.7

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/rabbitmq-server to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.8.2-1+deb10u2Fixed in 3.8.9-3+deb11u1Fixed in 3.10.8-1.1+deb12u1Fixed in 3.10.8-3
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade erlang/rabbit_common to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.11.24
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade erlang/rabbit_common to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.12.7
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade RabbitMQ to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.11.24
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade RabbitMQ to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.12.7

Event History

Oct 24, 2023
CVE Published
via MITRE·11:27 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·11:27 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Oct 25, 2023
Data Sourced
via NVD·06:17 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jun 30, 2026
Advisory Published
via GitHub·04:39 PM
Data Sourced
via GitHub·04:39 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the vulnerability ID for this RabbitMQ vulnerability?

The vulnerability ID for this RabbitMQ vulnerability is CVE-2023-46118.

2

What is the severity of the CVE-2023-46118 vulnerability?

The severity of the CVE-2023-46118 vulnerability is medium with a severity value of 4.9.

3

What is the affected software for the CVE-2023-46118 vulnerability?

The affected software for the CVE-2023-46118 vulnerability is VMware RabbitMQ versions 3.11.24 to 3.12.7.

4

How does this vulnerability impact RabbitMQ?

This vulnerability allows an authenticated user with sufficient credentials to publish very large messages over the HTTP API, leading to denial of service (DoS) attacks.

5

Is there a fix available for the CVE-2023-46118 vulnerability?

Yes, the fix for the CVE-2023-46118 vulnerability is provided by upgrading to a version of VMware RabbitMQ that is not affected, such as version 3.12.8 or later.

Contact

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