CVE-2023-45812 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

This article provides insights into CVE-2023-45812, which involves an improper check or handling of exceptional conditions in apollo-router.

Understanding CVE-2023-45812

CVE-2023-45812 relates to a vulnerability in the Apollo Router, affecting versions below 1.33.0. The vulnerability leads to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) scenario causing the Router to panic and terminate when processing multi-part responses.

What is CVE-2023-45812?

The Apollo Router is a high-performance graph router in Rust for running federated supergraphs with Apollo Federation. The issue occurs when users send queries with

@defer

or Subscriptions, triggering the Router to panic. Users must have a certain configuration in their

router.yaml

to be vulnerable.

The Impact of CVE-2023-45812

The vulnerability can be exploited to disrupt the functionality of the Apollo Router, potentially leading to service disruptions and denial of services.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-45812

The vulnerability is scored as 7.5 on the CVSS scale, indicating a high severity with a low attack complexity. It affects users of Apollo Router versions between 1.31.0 and 1.32.0.

Vulnerability Description

The flaw allows attackers to trigger a panic in the Router by sending specific queries utilizing

@defer

or Subscriptions, causing service interruption.

Affected Systems and Versions

Users of Apollo Router versions >= 1.31.0 and < 1.33.0 are at risk of exploitation and should take immediate action to mitigate the vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests that leverage the

@defer

feature or Subscriptions, leading to Router panics.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2023-45812:

Immediate Steps to Take

Users are strongly advised to upgrade to Apollo Router version 1.33.0 or newer, where the vulnerability has been patched.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software and apply security patches promptly to protect against known vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that all software components, including Apollo Router, are regularly updated to the latest secure versions to prevent exploitation.