# CVE-2023-34458: mx-chain-go's relayed transactions always increment nonce

> Attackers can cause a limited denial of service on targeted accounts by exploiting a nonce increment bug in relayed transactions.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:H`)
- **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:** 13 Jul 2023
- **Updated:** 22 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j494-7x2v-vvvp, GO-2023-1912

## What is CVE-2023-34458?

CVE-2023-34458 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in multiversx mx-chain-go, published on 13 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

mx-chain-go is the official implementation of the MultiversX blockchain protocol, written in golang. When executing a relayed transaction, if the inner transaction failed, it would have increased the inner transaction's sender account nonce. This could have contributed to a limited DoS attack on a targeted account. The fix is a breaking change so a new flag `RelayedNonceFixEnableEpoch` was needed. This was a strict processing issue while validating blocks on a chain. This vulnerability has been patched in version 1.4.17.

Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-34458?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go` | Go | All versions | 1.4.17 |
| `github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go` | Go | All versions | 1.4.17 |
| `github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go` | Go | All versions | 1.4.17 |

Products: Multiversx Mx-Chain-Go.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-34458?

Upgrade github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go to 1.4.17 or later.

## Is CVE-2023-34458 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-34458 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in multiversx mx-chain-go

- [CVE-2023-33964](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33964/): mx-chain-go does not treat invalid transaction with wrong username correctly (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-34458 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-34458 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in multiversx mx-chain-go, published on 13 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-34458 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.4.17
- github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.4.17
- github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.4.17

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-2023-34458/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-34458/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-34458
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34458
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-34458

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-34458/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.