# CVE-2013-4185: OpenStack Nova Denial of Service in network source security groups

> Remote authenticated users can cause denial of service in OpenStack Compute by triggering excessive network security group updates via server creation.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Oct 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-4185, GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27, PYSEC-2026-879

## What is CVE-2013-4185?

CVE-2013-4185 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Redhat Openstack, published on 29 Oct 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Algorithmic complexity vulnerability in OpenStack Compute (Nova) before 2013.1.3 and Havana before havana-3 does not properly handle network source security group policy updates, which allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (nova-network consumption) via a large number of server-creation operations, which triggers a large number of update requests.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4185?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including nova. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `nova` | PyPI | All versions | 12.0.0a0 |
| `nova` | PyPI | All versions | 12.0.0a0 |
| `nova` | PyPI | All versions | 12.0.0a0 |

Products: Openstack Compute, Redhat Openstack.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4185?

Upgrade nova to 12.0.0a0 or later.

## Is CVE-2013-4185 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Redhat Openstack

- [CVE-2013-7130](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-7130/): OpenStack Nova Live migration can leak root disk into ephemeral storage (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2014-0167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0167/): OpenStack Compute (Nova) allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges via API requests (medium 6.0)
- [CVE-2015-2687](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2687/): OpenStack Compute (Nova) Improper Access Control (medium 4.7)
- [CVE-2013-4179](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4179/): OpenStack Compute (Nova) vulnerable to denial of service via XML Entity Expansion attack (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2012-2654](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2654/): OpenStack Compute (Nova) Improper Input Validation (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4185 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4185 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Redhat Openstack, published on 29 Oct 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- nova (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 12.0.0a0
- nova (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 12.0.0a0
- nova (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 12.0.0a0

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4185/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4185/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4185
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4185
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4185

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4185/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.