Denial of service (DoS) in github.com/pires/go-proxyproto
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
The package github.com/pires/go-proxyproto before 0.5.0 are vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) via the parseVersion1() function. The reader in this package is a default bufio.Reader wrapping a net.Conn. It will read from the connection until it finds a newline. Since no limits are implemented in the code, a deliberately malformed V1 header could be used to exhaust memory in a server process using this code - and create a DoS. This can be exploited by sending a stream starting with PROXY and continuing to send data (which does not contain a newline) until the target stops acknowledging. The risk here is small, because only trusted sources should be allowed to send proxy protocol headers.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | github.com/pires/go-proxyproto | before 0.5.0 | 0.5.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/pires/go-proxyproto (Go) | before 0.5.0 | 0.5.0 | Patch available | GHSA-fqh4-rh59-xhvf |
- github.com/pires/go-proxyproto Vendor— Affected before 0.5.0 Fixed in 0.5.0 Patch available CNA
- github.com/pires/go-proxyproto (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.5.0 Fixed in 0.5.0 Patch available GHSA-fqh4-rh59-xhvf
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:go-proxyproto_project:go-proxyproto:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 0.5.0 | Vulnerable | Go-proxyproto Project |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 33 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 34 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
- cpe:2.3:a:go-proxyproto_project:go-proxyproto:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 0.5.0 Vulnerable ·Go-proxyproto Project
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 33 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 34 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
Remediation
- Fix · CNA github.com/pires/go-proxyproto Fixed in 0.5.0
- Fix · GHSA-fqh4-rh59-xhvf github.com/pires/go-proxyproto (Go) Fixed in 0.5.0 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-23351
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-fqh4-rh59-xhvf
References
Patch 2
Advisory 4
Sources
- CVE-2021-23351 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-23351 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-fqh4-rh59-xhvf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-23351 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences