CVE-2023-30591 | NodeBB Pre-Authentication Denial-of-Service

Denial-of-service in NodeBB <= v2.8.10 allows unauthenticated attackers to trigger a crash, when invoking `eventName.startsWith()` or `eventName.toString()`, while processing Socket.IO messages via crafted Socket.IO messages containing array or object type for the event name respectively.

Published: 2023-09-29 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-30591 is rated High Risk (69.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 53.80%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +51.98% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize 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-2023-30591

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 2026-06-15 1.83% 53.80% +51.98%
2 2026-05-10 2.21% 1.83% -0.38%
3 2026-04-22 2.21%

Full EPSS history (16 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-30591

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-2023-30591

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-30591

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nodebb nodebb <= 2.8.10 cpe:2.3:a:nodebb:nodebb:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-30591

cvelogic Threat Intelligence