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CVE-2023-6245

7.5 · HIGH

The Candid library causes a Denial of Service while parsing a specially crafted payload with 'empty' data type.

Published Dec 8, 2023CWE-20EPSS 1.21%

Overview

CVE-2023-6245 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on December 8, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

The Candid library causes a Denial of Service while

parsing a specially crafted payload with 'empty' data type. For example,

if the payload is `record { * ; empty }` and the canister interface expects `record { * }` then the Rust candid decoder treats empty as an extra field required by the type. The problem with the type empty is that the candid Rust library wrongly categorizes empty as a recoverable error when skipping the field and thus causing an infinite decoding loop.

Canisters using affected versions of candid

are exposed to denial of service by causing the decoding to run

indefinitely until the canister traps due to reaching maximum

instruction limit per execution round. Repeated exposure to the payload

will result in degraded performance of the canister. Note: Canisters written in Motoko are unaffected.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

GitHubgithub.com/dfinity/candid/blob/master/spec/Candid.mdGitHubgithub.com/dfinity/candid/pull/478GitHubgithub.com/dfinity/candid/security/advisories/GHSA-7787-p7x6-fq3jRefinternetcomputer.org/docs/current/references/candid-refRefinternetcomputer.org/docs/current/references/ic-interface-specGitHubgithub.com/dfinity/candid/blob/master/spec/Candid.mdGitHubgithub.com/dfinity/candid/pull/478GitHubgithub.com/dfinity/candid/security/advisories/GHSA-7787-p7x6-fq3jRefinternetcomputer.org/docs/current/references/candid-refRefinternetcomputer.org/docs/current/references/ic-interface-spec

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-6245?

CVE-2023-6245 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on December 8, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2023-6245?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-6245?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-6245?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2023-6245 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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