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GHSA-gwj5-3vfq-q992
No affected components available
(This advisory is canonically https://advisories.nats.io/CVE/CVE-2020-28466.txt)
Problem Description
An export/import cycle between accounts could crash the nats-server, after consuming CPU and memory.
This issue was fixed publicly in https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/pull/1731 in November 2020.
The need to call this out as a security issue was highlighted by snyk.io and we are grateful for their assistance in doing so.
Organizations which run a NATS service providing access to accounts run by untrusted third parties are affected. See below for an important caveat if running such a service.
Affected versions
NATS Server
- Version 2 prior to 2.2.0
- 2.0.0 through and including 2.1.9 are vulnerable.
- fixed with nats-io/nats-server PR 1731, commit 2e3c226729
Impact
The nats-server could be killed, after consuming resources.
Workaround
The import cycle requires at least two accounts to work; if you have open account sign-up, then restricting new account sign-up might hinder an attacker.
Solution
Upgrade the nats-server.
Caveat on NATS with untrusted users
Running a NATS service which is exposed to untrusted users presents a heightened risk.
Any remote execution flaw or equivalent seriousness, or denial-of-service by unauthenticated users, will lead to prompt releases by the NATS maintainers.
Fixes for denial of service issues with no threat of remote execution, when limited to account holders, are likely to just be committed to the main development branch with no special attention.
Those who are running such services are encouraged to build regularly from git.
The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker does not need any special privileges or access rights. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the availability of the system.
Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.
Probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days.
We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.
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