Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-45363

DoS in Mediawiki ≤ 1.35.12

Public PoCDoS
Published
09 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / 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 0.23 98th percentile
Risk Priority 71 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-45363 is a high-severity Infinite Loop (CWE-835) vulnerability in Mediawiki Mediawiki. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked in the top 2% 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.

The vulnerability is an unbounded loop condition, tracked as CWE-835, in the ApiPageSet.php component of MediaWiki. It affects versions prior to 1.35.12, 1.36.x through 1.39.x before 1.39.5, and 1.40.x before 1.40.1. When the API receives a query for pages that redirect to other variants while both the redirects and converttitles parameters are set, the loop executes without termination and triggers a RequestTimeoutException, resulting in denial of service.

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit the flaw over the network by submitting crafted API requests that satisfy the redirect and title-conversion conditions. Successful exploitation produces only availability impact, with no effect on confidentiality or integrity, consistent with the CVSS 7.5 rating.

Debian security advisories DSA-5520 and the corresponding LTS announcements, along with Wikimedia Phabricator task T333050, direct administrators to apply the fixed releases 1.35.12, 1.39.5, or 1.40.1. The EPSS score remains flat at 0.1103 with no material increase after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An issue was discovered in ApiPageSet.php in MediaWiki before 1.35.12, 1.36.x through 1.39.x before 1.39.5, and 1.40.x before 1.40.1. It allows attackers to cause a denial of service (unbounded loop and RequestTimeoutException) when querying pages redirected to other variants with…

more

redirects and converttitles set.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
T1499.003 Application Exhaustion Flood Impact
Adversaries may target resource intensive features of applications to cause a denial of service (DoS), denying availability to those applications.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-3550Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-45364Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-2952Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38727Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38001Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38588Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-37859Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38587Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-52635Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-2879Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

mediawiki
mediawiki
1.40.0 · ≤ 1.35.12 · 1.36.0 — 1.39.5
debian
debian linux
11.0, 12.0

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-835

Enables transfer to alternate site if an infinite loop at the primary renders processing unavailable.

addresses: CWE-835

Detects and mitigates infinite loops that produce sustained resource consumption.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (reviews, testing, static analysis) directly prevent introduction of infinite-loop defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Static analysis and vuln scanning during asset assessment can detect unreachable loop exits.

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.

finds

Security testing can uncover infinite-loop conditions before release.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that can detect and prevent infinite-loop defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify loop-termination rules, indirectly reducing the weakness.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly address loop termination and prevent infinite loops.

none

Secure architecture principles encourage designs that avoid unreachable exit conditions.

none

Change management can require review of loop logic when code is modified.

References