# CVE-2023-46739: Timing attack can leak user passwords

> An attacker can steal user passwords from CubeFS master component via timing attacks due to insecure string comparison.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Jan 2024
- **Updated:** 17 Jun 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8579-7p32-f398, GO-2024-2432

## What is CVE-2023-46739?

CVE-2023-46739 is a medium-severity vulnerability in cubefs, published on 3 Jan 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

CubeFS is an open-source cloud-native file storage system. A vulnerability was found during in the CubeFS master component in versions prior to 3.3.1 that could allow an untrusted attacker to steal user passwords by carrying out a timing attack. The root case of the vulnerability was that CubeFS used raw string comparison of passwords. The vulnerable part of CubeFS was the UserService of the master component. The UserService gets instantiated when starting the server of the master component. The issue has been patched in v3.3.1. For impacted users, there is no other way to mitigate the issue besides upgrading.

Weakness: CWE-203 (Observable Discrepancy)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-46739?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/cubefs/cubefs. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/cubefs/cubefs` | Go | All versions | None |
| `github.com/cubefs/cubefs` | Go | All versions | 3.3.1 |
| `github.com/cubefs/cubefs` | Go | All versions | 3.3.1 |

Products: Linuxfoundation Cubefs.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-46739?

Upgrade github.com/cubefs/cubefs to 3.3.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2023-46739 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-46739 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in cubefs

- [CVE-2023-46738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46738/): Authenticated users can crash the CubeFS servers with maliciously crafted requests (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-46740](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46740/): Insecure random string generator used for sensitive data (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-30512](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30512/): CubeFS allows Kubernetes cluster-level privilege escalation (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-46741](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46741/): CubeFS leaks magic secret key when starting Blobstore access service (medium 4.8)
- [CVE-2023-46742](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46742/): CubeFS leaks users key in logs (medium 4.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-46739 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-46739 is a medium-severity vulnerability in cubefs, published on 3 Jan 2024. 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-2023-46739 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/cubefs/cubefs (Go): affected all versions; no fix listed
- github.com/cubefs/cubefs (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 3.3.1
- github.com/cubefs/cubefs (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 3.3.1

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-2023-46739/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46739/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46739
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46739
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-46739

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46739/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.