libp2p nodes vulnerable to OOM attack

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2023-40583: 0.95% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 61.37 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary In go-libp2p, by using signed peer records a malicious actor can store an arbitrary amount of data in a remote node’s memory. This memory does not get garbage collected and so the victim can run out of memory and crash. It is feasible to do this at scale. An attacker would have to transfer ~1/2 as much memory it wants to occupy (2x amplification factor). The attacker can perform this attack over time as the target node’s memory will not be garbage collected. This can occur because when a signed peer record is received, only the signature validity check is performed but the sender signature is not checked. Signed peer records from randomly generated peers can be sent by a malicious actor. A target node will accept the peer record as long as the signature is valid, and then stored in the peer store. There is cleanup logic in the peer store that cleans up data when a peer disconnects, but this cleanup is never triggered for the fake peer (from which signed peer records were…

Published by the source

24 Aug 2023, 22:22 UTC

Last modified by the source

5 Nov 2023, 05:01 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:59 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-gcq9-qqwx-rgj3

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2023-40583

Advisory: libp2p nodes vulnerable to OOM attack
IDs: CVE-2023-40583, GHSA-gcq9-qqwx-rgj3
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2023-40583 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:59 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p 0.27.4. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p: affected <= 0.27.3; fixed in 0.27.4

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gcq9-qqwx-rgj3 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-gcq9-qqwx-rgj3 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p >=0 <=0.27.3)

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