# CVE-2023-45363: MediaWiki Denial of Service vulnerability

> Attackers can cause a denial of service via an unbounded loop in MediaWiki when specific redirect and title conversion options are enabled.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** BIT-mediawiki-2023-45363, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-45363, GHSA-w5fx-cx7f-6vr9, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-45363

## What is CVE-2023-45363?

CVE-2023-45363 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 9 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in ApiPageSet.php in MediaWiki before 1.35.12, 1.36.x through 1.39.x before 1.39.5, and 1.40.x before 1.40.1. It allows attackers to cause a denial of service (unbounded loop and RequestTimeoutException) when querying pages redirected to other variants with redirects and converttitles set.

Weakness: CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-45363?

7 open source packages ship an affected version, including mediawiki/core and mediawiki. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `mediawiki/core` | Packagist | All versions | 1.35.12 |
| `mediawiki/core` | Packagist | All versions | 1.35.12 |
| `mediawiki/core` | Packagist | From 1.36.0 | 1.39.5 |
| `mediawiki/core` | Packagist | From 1.36.0 | 1.39.5 |
| `mediawiki/core` | Packagist | From 1.40.0 | 1.40.1 |
| `mediawiki/core` | Packagist | From 1.40.0 | 1.40.1 |
| `mediawiki` | Bitnami | All versions | 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Mediawiki Mediawiki.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-45363?

Upgrade mediawiki/core to a fixed version for your release line: 1.35.12, 1.39.5 or 1.40.1.

## Is CVE-2023-45363 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45363 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-45363 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-45363 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 9 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45363 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- mediawiki/core (Packagist): affected all versions; fixed in 1.35.12
- mediawiki/core (Packagist): affected all versions; fixed in 1.35.12
- mediawiki/core (Packagist): affected from 1.36.0; fixed in 1.39.5
- mediawiki/core (Packagist): affected from 1.36.0; fixed in 1.39.5
- mediawiki/core (Packagist): affected from 1.40.0; fixed in 1.40.1
- mediawiki/core (Packagist): affected from 1.40.0; fixed in 1.40.1
- mediawiki (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 1.35.12, 1.39.5, 1.40.1

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-2023-45363/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45363/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-45363
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45363
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-45363

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45363/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.