GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g SurrealDB has unauthenticated remote DoS via malformed RPC `use` call
Unauthenticated remote attackers can crash the SurrealDB server by sending a malformed RPC message, causing a denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g?
GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g is a denial of service vulnerability in surrealdb, published on 1 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A single unauthenticated WebSocket message to /rpc crashed the SurrealDB server. Sending use { db: "x" } without first selecting a namespace hit .expect("namespace should be set") in the use handler; because surrealdb-core is built with panic = 'abort', the panic terminated the process. use is callable before signin, and the per-method capability check passes by default for guest callers — so no credentials, token, or --allow-guests flag are required.
Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker who could reach the /rpc endpoint could crash the SurrealDB server with a single WebSocket message. No credentials, token, session knowledge, or capability are required.
Patches
A patch has been introduced that returns a typed invalid_params response when db is set on a session with no ns, replacing the panic.
- Versions 3.1.0 and later are not affected by this issue.
Workarounds
Affected users who are unable to update should restrict network access to the /rpc endpoint to trusted clients, and run SurrealDB under a process supervisor that restarts on crash.
Which versions are affected by GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including surrealdb.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
surrealdb crates.io | All versions | 3.1.0 |
surrealdb crates.io | All versions | 3.1.0 |
How do I fix GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g?
Upgrade surrealdb to 3.1.0 or later.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of GHSA-wjjj-24cx-f28g in the wild and no public exploit code.