CVE-2023-38498

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches, a malicious user can prevent the defer queue from proceeding promptly on sites hosted in the same multisite installation. The issue is patched in version 3.0.6 of the stable branch and version 3.1.0.beta7 of the beta and tests-passed branches. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Users of multisite configurations should upgrade.

Weakness

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

Affected Software

Potential Mitigations

• Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:

• The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.

• The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/147.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/227.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/492.html

References

• https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/26e267478d785e2f32ee7da4613e2cf4a65ff182
• https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-wv29-rm3f-4g2j
• https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/26e267478d785e2f32ee7da4613e2cf4a65ff182
• https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-wv29-rm3f-4g2j