CVE-2023-4785: Uncovering a Denial of Service Vulnerability in Google's gRPC TCP Server

CVE-2023-4785 is a recently discovered vulnerability that affects Google's gRPC framework. In particular, the vulnerability arises due to a lack of error handling in the TCP server component of gRPC, specifically when it is implemented in versions 1.23 and later on Linux-based platforms. This vulnerability impacts the gRPC C++, Python, and Ruby frameworks, while the Java and Go implementations remain unaffected.

In this post, we will delve into the details of this vulnerability, providing code snippets, original references, and exploit details to better understand and mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2023-4785.

Vulnerability Details

The gRPC framework is a popular choice for implementing high-performance, distributed applications using remote procedure calls (RPCs). This means that programmers can easily write robust, scalable code across different languages and platforms seamlessly.

The vulnerability (CVE-2023-4785) arises due to a lack of error handling in the TCP server, specifically in the gRPC C++, Python, and Ruby implementations. In these cases, when an attacker initiates a significant number of connections with the server, the lack of proper error handling mechanisms can lead to a denial of service (DoS).

Timeline

Published on: 09/13/2023 17:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 09/19/2023 16:02:00 UTC