Security Resilience

CVE-2023-38976

Weaviate 1.20.0

Public PoC
Published
21 August 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.021 82th percentile
Risk Priority 66 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-38976 is a high-severity Reachable Assertion (CWE-617) vulnerability in Weaviate Weaviate. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 18% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Weaviate version 1.20.0 contains a reachable assertion flaw (CWE-617) in the handleUnbatchedGraphQLRequest function that can be triggered by network callers. The issue produces a denial-of-service condition with no authentication or user interaction required, corresponding to a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can submit specially crafted GraphQL requests that reach the failing assertion, causing the server process to terminate and interrupting availability for legitimate users. The attack requires only network access and does not affect confidentiality or integrity.

Public references point to a detailed analysis at aisec.today and the upstream GitHub issue 3258, but no specific patch version, configuration workaround, or mitigation guidance is stated in the supplied references. The associated EPSS score has remained low, with a current value of 0.0874 and a peak of 0.0909.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An issue in weaviate v.1.20.0 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via the handleUnbatchedGraphQLRequest function.

CWE(s)
CWE-617

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-59093Same product: Weaviate Weaviate
CVE-2025-67819Same product: Weaviate Weaviate
CVE-2025-67818Same product: Weaviate Weaviate
CVE-2023-37010Shared CWE-617
CVE-2023-37024Shared CWE-617
CVE-2024-57923Shared CWE-617
CVE-2026-37228Shared CWE-617
CVE-2023-52831Shared CWE-617
CVE-2025-41068Shared CWE-617
CVE-2026-103108Shared CWE-617

Affected Assets

weaviate
weaviate
1.20.0

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

DE.CM-09 partial match
blocks

Runtime monitoring of software can detect assertion-triggered crashes as adverse events.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes can discover and record reachable-assertion flaws before deployment.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent unsafe assertions from being coded in reachable paths.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References