CVE-2022-23492 | go-libp2p denial of service vulnerability from lack of resource management

go-libp2p is the offical libp2p implementation in the Go programming language. Version `0.18.0` and older of go-libp2p are vulnerable to targeted resource exhaustion attacks. These attacks target libp2p’s connection, stream, peer, and memory management. An attacker can cause the allocation of large amounts of memory, ultimately leading to the process getting killed by the host’s operating system. While a connection manager tasked with keeping the number of connections within manageable limits has been part of go-libp2p, this component was designed to handle the regular churn of peers, not a targeted resource exhaustion attack. Users are advised to upgrade their version of go-libp2p to version `0.18.1` or newer. Users unable to upgrade may consult the denial of service (dos) mitigation page for more information on how to incorporate mitigation strategies, monitor your application, and respond to attacks.

Published: 2022-12-08 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-23492 is rated Moderate Risk (54/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.59%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-23492

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-14 0.68% 0.59% -0.09%
2 2025-12-11 0.40% 0.68% +0.28%
3 2025-12-09 0.40%

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-23492

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-23492

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-23492

GHSA-j7qp-mfxf-8xjw · Severity: high · Ecosystem: go — libp2p DoS vulnerability from lack of resource management

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-23492

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
protocol libp2p < 0.18.0 cpe:2.3:a:protocol:libp2p:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:*

References for CVE-2022-23492

cvelogic Threat Intelligence