# CVE-2023-39951: Information disclosure in opentelemetry-java-instrumentation

> OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation leaks email content to telemetry backends when instrumenting AWS SES v1 API calls, exposing sensitive data to unintended audiences.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hghr-r469-gfq6

## What is CVE-2023-39951?

CVE-2023-39951 is a medium-severity vulnerability in open-telemetry opentelemetry-java-instrumentation, published on 8 Aug 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation provides OpenTelemetry auto-instrumentation and instrumentation libraries for Java. OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation prior to version 1.28.0 contains an issue related to the instrumentation of Java applications using the AWS SDK v2 with Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) v1 API. When SES POST requests are instrumented, the query parameters of the request are inserted into the trace `url.path` field. This behavior leads to the http body, containing the email subject and message, to be present in the trace request url metadata. Any user using a version before 1.28.0 of OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation to instrument AWS SDK v2 call to SES’s v1 SendEmail API is affected. The e-mail content sent to SES may end up in telemetry backend. This exposes the e-mail content to unintended audiences. The issue can be mitigated by updating OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation to version 1.28.0 or later.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-39951?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linuxfoundation Opentelemetry Instrumentation for Java.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-39951?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-39951 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-39951 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-39951 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in open-telemetry opentelemetry-java-instrumentation

- [CVE-2026-33701](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33701/): OpenTelemetry: Unsafe Deserialization in RMI Instrumentation may Lead to Remote Code Execution (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-54704](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54704/): OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation: JDBC Auto-Instrumentation Logging Clear-Text Passwords (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2026-54712](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54712/): OpenTelemetry Javaagent RMI context propagation allows resource exhaustion (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-39951 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-39951 is a medium-severity vulnerability in open-telemetry opentelemetry-java-instrumentation, published on 8 Aug 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-39951 exists.

Affected product: open-telemetry opentelemetry-java-instrumentation. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2023-39951/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39951/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39951
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39951
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-39951

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39951/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.