CVE-2023-30588 in Node.js
Summary
by MITRE • 11/28/2023
When an invalid public key is used to create an x509 certificate using the crypto.X509Certificate() API a non-expect termination occurs making it susceptible to DoS attacks when the attacker could force interruptions of application processing, as the process terminates when accessing public key info of provided certificates from user code. The current context of the users will be gone, and that will cause a DoS scenario. This vulnerability affects all active Node.js versions v16, v18, and, v20.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical denial of service weakness in Node.js cryptographic implementations that stems from improper error handling within the crypto.X509Certificate() API. When an invalid public key is provided during x509 certificate creation, the system experiences unexpected termination rather than graceful error propagation. This behavior creates a fundamental security flaw where malicious actors can deliberately construct malformed certificates with invalid public keys to trigger application crashes and process interruptions. The vulnerability specifically impacts Node.js versions 16, 18, and 20, indicating it exists across multiple active release lines and affects a substantial portion of the Node.js ecosystem. The technical root cause lies in how the crypto module handles invalid cryptographic inputs without implementing proper exception boundaries or input validation mechanisms before attempting to process public key information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to create significant reliability challenges for applications that depend on certificate processing. When an attacker supplies a malformed certificate containing an invalid public key, the application process terminates abruptly rather than continuing execution or returning appropriate error codes. This termination behavior effectively renders the affected applications unavailable to legitimate users while providing attackers with a straightforward method to cause system downtime. The loss of user context during these termination events compounds the problem by eliminating any opportunity for graceful degradation or error recovery mechanisms to activate, making the DoS attack more effective and harder to mitigate through traditional error handling approaches.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) and CWE-691 (Insufficient Control Flow Management) while aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 (Endpoint Denial of Service) and T1583.001 (Resource Hijacking). The flaw demonstrates poor input validation practices where external data from user code is processed without adequate sanitization or error boundary management before cryptographic operations. Applications utilizing the crypto.X509Certificate() API become vulnerable to attackers who can craft specific certificate structures designed to trigger this termination condition, potentially leading to cascading failures in systems that rely on continuous certificate validation processes. The vulnerability's scope encompasses all Node.js versions mentioned, suggesting it resides in core cryptographic libraries rather than being isolated to specific code paths or modules.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust input validation and error handling before certificate processing occurs, including comprehensive public key validation routines and proper exception boundaries around crypto operations. Organizations should consider wrapping crypto.X509Certificate() calls in try-catch blocks with appropriate logging mechanisms to prevent process termination while maintaining application availability. Additionally, implementing circuit breaker patterns or rate limiting for certificate processing can help reduce the effectiveness of targeted DoS attacks. The Node.js development team should prioritize immediate patch releases addressing this control flow management issue and implement proper defensive programming practices to ensure cryptographic operations handle invalid inputs gracefully rather than causing system-wide termination events.