CVE-2023-38684

Discourse vulnerable to ossible DDoS due to unbounded limits in various controller actions

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: July 28, 2023 at 03:25 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:10 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorDiscourse

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.6%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

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, in multiple controller actions, Discourse accepts limit params but does not impose any upper bound on the values being accepted. Without an upper bound, the software may allow arbitrary users to generate DB queries which may end up exhausting the resources on the server. 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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 3.0.6v < 3.1.0.beta73.1.0.beta1 ≤ v < 3.1.0.beta71.1.0 beta11.1.0 beta21.1.0 beta31.1.0 beta41.1.0 beta51.1.0 beta61.1.0 beta6b1.1.0 beta71.1.0 beta81.2.0 beta11.2.0 beta21.2.0 beta31.2.0 beta41.2.0 beta51.2.0 beta61.2.0 beta71.2.0 beta81.2.0 beta91.3.0 beta11.3.0 beta101.3.0 beta111.3.0 beta21.3.0 beta31.3.0 beta41.3.0 beta51.3.0 beta61.3.0 beta71.3.0 beta81.3.0 beta91.4.0 beta11.4.0 beta101.4.0 beta111.4.0 beta121.4.0 beta21.4.0 beta31.4.0 beta41.4.0 beta51.4.0 beta61.4.0 beta71.4.0 beta81.4.0 beta91.5.0 beta11.5.0 beta101.5.0 beta111.5.0 beta121.5.0 beta131.5.0 beta13b1.5.0 beta141.5.0 beta21.5.0 beta31.5.0 beta41.5.0 beta51.5.0 beta61.5.0 beta71.5.0 beta81.5.0 beta91.6.0 beta11.6.0 beta101.6.0 beta111.6.0 beta121.6.0 beta21.6.0 beta31.6.0 beta41.6.0 beta51.6.0 beta61.6.0 beta71.6.0 beta81.6.0 beta91.7.0 beta11.7.0 beta101.7.0 beta111.7.0 beta21.7.0 beta31.7.0 beta41.7.0 beta51.7.0 beta61.7.0 beta71.7.0 beta81.7.0 beta91.8.0 beta11.8.0 beta101.8.0 beta111.8.0 beta121.8.0 beta131.8.0 beta21.8.0 beta31.8.0 beta41.8.0 beta51.8.0 beta61.8.0 beta71.8.0 beta81.8.0 beta91.9.0 beta11.9.0 beta101.9.0 beta111.9.0 beta121.9.0 beta131.9.0 beta141.9.0 beta151.9.0 beta161.9.0 beta171.9.0 beta21.9.0 beta31.9.0 beta41.9.0 beta51.9.0 beta61.9.0 beta71.9.0 beta81.9.0 beta92.0.0 beta12.0.0 beta102.0.0 beta22.0.0 beta32.0.0 beta42.0.0 beta52.0.0 beta62.0.0 beta72.0.0 beta82.0.0 beta92.1.0 beta12.1.0 beta22.1.0 beta32.1.0 beta42.1.0 beta52.1.0 beta62.2.0 beta12.2.0 beta102.2.0 beta22.2.0 beta32.2.0 beta42.2.0 beta52.2.0 beta62.2.0 beta72.2.0 beta82.2.0 beta92.3.0 beta12.3.0 beta102.3.0 beta112.3.0 beta22.3.0 beta32.3.0 beta42.3.0 beta52.3.0 beta62.3.0 beta72.3.0 beta82.3.0 beta92.4.0 beta12.4.0 beta102.4.0 beta112.4.0 beta22.4.0 beta32.4.0 beta42.4.0 beta52.4.0 beta62.4.0 beta72.4.0 beta82.4.0 beta92.5.0 beta12.5.0 beta22.5.0 beta32.5.0 beta42.5.0 beta52.5.0 beta62.5.0 beta72.6.0 beta12.6.0 beta22.6.0 beta32.6.0 beta42.6.0 beta52.6.0 beta62.7.0 beta12.7.0 beta22.7.0 beta32.7.0 beta42.7.0 beta52.7.0 beta62.7.0 beta72.7.0 beta82.7.0 beta92.8.0 beta12.8.0 beta102.8.0 beta112.8.0 beta22.8.0 beta32.8.0 beta42.8.0 beta52.8.0 beta62.8.0 beta72.8.0 beta82.8.0 beta92.9.0 beta12.9.0 beta102.9.0 beta112.9.0 beta122.9.0 beta132.9.0 beta142.9.0 beta22.9.0 beta32.9.0 beta42.9.0 beta52.9.0 beta62.9.0 beta72.9.0 beta82.9.0 beta93.0.0 beta153.0.0 beta163.1.0 beta13.1.0 beta23.1.0 beta33.1.0 beta53.1.0 beta63.1.0.beta1
Affected range stops below 3.0.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 3.1.0.beta7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-770

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