Unnamed "Subscription" operation results in Denial-of-Service in apollographql/router
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub.
Summary
The Apollo Router is a configurable, high-performance graph router written in Rust to run a federated supergraph that uses Apollo Federation 2. Affected versions are subject to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) type vulnerability which causes the Router to panic and terminate when GraphQL Subscriptions are enabled. It can be triggered when **all of the following conditions are met**: 1. Running Apollo Router v1.28.0, v1.28.1 or v1.29.0 ("impacted versions"); **and** 2. The Supergraph schema provided to the Router (either via Apollo Uplink or explicitly via other configuration) **has a `subscription` type** with root-fields defined; **and** 3. The YAML configuration provided to the Router **has subscriptions enabled** (they are _disabled_ by default), either by setting `enabled: true` _or_ by setting a valid `mode` within the `subscriptions` object (as seen in [subscriptions' documentation](https://www.apollographql.com/docs/router/executing-operations/subscription-support/#router-setup)); **and** 4. An [anonymous](https://spec.graphql.org/draft/#sec-Anonymous-Operation-Definitions) (i.e., un-named) `subscription` operation (e.g., `subscription { ... }`) is received by the Router If **all four** of these criteria are met, the impacted versions will panic and terminate. There is no data-privacy risk or sensitive-information exposure aspect to this vulnerability. This is fixed in Apollo Router v1.29.1. Users are advised to upgrade. Updating to v1.29.1 should be a clear and simple upgrade path for those running impacted versions. However, if Subscriptions are **not** necessary for your Graph – but are enabled via configuration — then disabling subscriptions is another option to mitigate the risk.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| apollographql | router | 1.28.0 to before 1.29.1 | 1.29.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | apollo-router (crates.io) | 1.28.0 to before 1.29.1 | 1.29.1 | Patch available | GHSA-w8vq-3hf9-xppx |
- router Vendorapollographql Affected 1.28.0 to before 1.29.1 Fixed in 1.29.1 Patch available CNA
- apollo-router (crates.io) Vendor— Affected 1.28.0 to before 1.29.1 Fixed in 1.29.1 Patch available GHSA-w8vq-3hf9-xppx
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:apollographql:apollo_router:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 1.28.0 to before 1.29.1 | Vulnerable | apollographql |
- cpe:2.3:a:apollographql:apollo_router:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.28.0 to before 1.29.1 Vulnerable ·apollographql
Remediation
- Fix · CNA router (apollographql) Fixed in 1.29.1
- Fix · GHSA-w8vq-3hf9-xppx apollo-router (crates.io) Fixed in 1.29.1 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-41317
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w8vq-3hf9-xppx
References
Advisory 2
More apollographql Apollo Router vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-29063 Apollo Query Planner and Apollo Gateway may infinitely loop on sufficiently complex queries CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2024-29378 Apollo Router Coprocessors may cause Denial-of-Service when handling request bodies CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2024-18682 Apollo Router's Compressed Payloads do not respect HTTP Payload Limits CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2023-24573 Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions in apollo-router CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2023-41317 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-41317 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w8vq-3hf9-xppx · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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