# CVE-2023-5954: Vault Requests Triggering Policy Checks May Lead To Unbounded Memory Consumption

> Attackers can cause denial of service in HashiCorp Vault by sending many requests that trigger policy checks, leading to unbounded memory consumption.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** BIT-vault-2023-5954, GHSA-4qhc-v8r6-8vwm, GO-2023-2329

## What is CVE-2023-5954?

CVE-2023-5954 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Hashicorp Vault, published on 9 Nov 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise inbound client requests triggering a policy check can lead to an unbounded consumption of memory. A large number of these requests may lead to denial-of-service. Fixed in Vault 1.15.2, 1.14.6, and 1.13.10.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-5954?

8 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/hashicorp/vault and vault. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | All versions | 1.13.10, 1.14.6, 1.15.2 |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | All versions | 1.13.10 |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | All versions | 1.13.10 |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | From 1.14.0 | 1.14.6 |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | From 1.14.0 | 1.14.6 |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | From 1.15.0 | 1.15.2 |
| `github.com/hashicorp/vault` | Go | From 1.15.0 | 1.15.2 |
| `vault` | Bitnami | From 1.13.7 | 1.13.10, 1.14.6, 1.15.2 |

Products: Hashicorp Vault.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-5954?

Upgrade github.com/hashicorp/vault to a fixed version for your release line: 1.13.10, 1.14.6 or 1.15.2.

## Is CVE-2023-5954 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5954 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Hashicorp Vault

- [CVE-2020-35192](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35192/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-12757](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12757/): Improper Input Validation in HashiCorp Vault (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-6000](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-6000/): Arbitrary Remote Code Execution via Plugin Catalog Abuse (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-40186](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40186/): HashiCorp Vault vulnerable to incorrect metadata access (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-36129](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36129/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-5954 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-5954 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Hashicorp Vault, published on 9 Nov 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-2023-5954 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.13.10, 1.14.6, 1.15.2
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.13.10
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.13.10
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected from 1.14.0; fixed in 1.14.6
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected from 1.14.0; fixed in 1.14.6
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected from 1.15.0; fixed in 1.15.2
- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): affected from 1.15.0; fixed in 1.15.2
- vault (Bitnami): affected from 1.13.7; fixed in 1.13.10, 1.14.6, 1.15.2

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-2023-5954/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5954/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5954
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5954
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-5954

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5954/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.