CVE-2023-49290 | Malicious parameters can cause a denial of service in lestrrat-go/jwx

Exp

lestrrat-go/jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. A p2c parameter set too high in JWE's algorithm PBES2-* could lead to a denial of service. The JWE key management algorithms based on PBKDF2 require a JOSE Header Parameter called p2c (PBES2 Count). This parameter dictates the number of PBKDF2 iterations needed to derive a CEK wrapping key. Its primary purpose is to intentionally slow down the key derivation function, making password brute-force and dictionary attacks more resource- intensive. Therefore, if an attacker sets the p2c parameter in JWE to a very large number, it can cause a lot of computational consumption, resulting in a denial of service. This vulnerability has been addressed in commit `64f2a229b` which has been included in release version 1.2.27 and 2.0.18. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Published: 2023-12-05 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-49290 is rated Exploit Available (50.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.18%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-49290

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-49290

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 2025-11-21 0.41% 0.18% -0.22%
2 2025-11-18 0.18% 0.41% +0.22%
3 2025-06-28 — 0.18% —

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-49290

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-49290

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-49290

GHSA-7f9x-gw85-8grf · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: go — lestrrat-go/jwx's malicious parameters in JWE can cause a DOS

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-49290

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-49290

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-49290

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
lestrrat-go jwx < 1.2.27 cpe:2.3:a:lestrrat-go:jwx:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
lestrrat-go jwx >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.18 cpe:2.3:a:lestrrat-go:jwx:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-49290

cvelogic Threat Intelligence