CVE-2023-27488

Public Exploit
Envoy gRPC client produces invalid protobuf when an HTTP header with non-UTF8 value is received.

Description

Envoy is an open source edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications. Prior to versions 1.26.0, 1.25.3, 1.24.4, 1.23.6, and 1.22.9, escalation of privileges is possible when `failure_mode_allow: true` is configured for `ext_authz` filter. For affected components that are used for logging and/or visibility, requests may not be logged by the receiving service. When Envoy was configured to use ext_authz, ext_proc, tap, ratelimit filters, and grpc access log service and an http header with non-UTF-8 data was received, Envoy would generate an invalid protobuf message and send it to the configured service. The receiving service would typically generate an error when decoding the protobuf message. For ext_authz that was configured with ``failure_mode_allow: true``, the request would have been allowed in this case. For the other services, this could have resulted in other unforeseen errors such as a lack of visibility into requests. As of versions 1.26.0, 1.25.3, 1.24.4, 1.23.6, and 1.22.9, Envoy by default sanitizes the values sent in gRPC service calls to be valid UTF-8, replacing data that is not valid UTF-8 with a `!` character. This behavioral change can be temporarily reverted by setting runtime guard `envoy.reloadable_features.service_sanitize_non_utf8_strings` to false. As a workaround, one may set `failure_mode_allow: false` for `ext_authz`.

Category

5.4
CVSS
Severity: Medium
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.03%
Vendor Advisory github.com
Affected: envoyproxy envoy
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2023-27488?
CVE-2023-27488 has been scored as a medium severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2023-27488?
To fix CVE-2023-27488, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2023-27488 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2023-27488 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2023-27488?
CVE-2023-27488 affects envoyproxy envoy.
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