github.com/ipfs/kubo affected by DOS Bitswap unbounded persistent memory leak
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from GitHub. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
### Impact An attacker is able allocate arbitrarily many bytes in the Bitswap server by sending many `WANT_BLOCK` and or `WANT_HAVE` requests which are queued in an unbounded queue, with allocations that persist even if the connection is closed. This affects users accepting or connecting untrusted connections such as by running in the public swarm and no pnet config. Nodes that are not publicly reachable but connects to untrusted nodes are also vulnerable to the untrusted nodes being connected to since libp2p connections are blindly bidirectional. ### Patches - 19feb15833c6f4d6e7f1e1b132efaae96d76481d [`boxo`](https://github.com/ipfs/boxo) update in Kubo - GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 patches in boxo ### Workarounds Use [PNET](https://github.com/ipfs/kubo/blob/master/docs/experimental-features.md#private-networks), [swarm filters](https://github.com/ipfs/kubo/blob/master/docs/config.md#swarmaddrfilters) or [resource manager allows list](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p/p2p/host/resource-manager#readme-allowlisting-multiaddrs-to-mitigate-eclipse-attacks) to block untrusted connections. Note that using the resource manager will disrupt both client and server features because the bitswap protocol is a message based protocol mixing requests and responses. ### References - GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 - [CVE-2023-25568](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-25568)
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/ipfs/kubo (Go) | before 0.19.0 | 0.19.0 | Patch available | GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h |
- github.com/ipfs/kubo (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.19.0 Fixed in 0.19.0 Patch available GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h github.com/ipfs/kubo (Go) Fixed in 0.19.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-03 Threatist record created from GHSA-qvqg-6rp8-4p9h
References
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences