theupdateframework go-tuf up to 2.3.0 Repository/Mirror/Cache assertion

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in theupdateframework go-tuf up to 2.3.0. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the component Repository/Mirror/Cache. The manipulation leads to assertion. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-23991. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in theupdateframework go-tuf up to 2.3.0. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects an unknown functionality of the component Repository/Mirror/Cache. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a assertion vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-617. The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

go-tuf is a Go implementation of The Update Framework (TUF). Starting in version 2.0.0 and prior to version 2.3.1, if the TUF repository (or any of its mirrors) returns invalid TUF metadata JSON (valid JSON but not well formed TUF metadata), the client will panic during parsing, causing a denial of service. The panic happens before any signature is validated. This means that a compromised repository/mirror/cache can DoS clients without having access to any signing key. Version 2.3.1 fixes the issue. No known workarounds are available.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-23991 since 01/19/2026. The exploitation is known to be difficult. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 301024 (SUSE SLED15 / SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : cosign (SUSE-SU-2026:0777-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 2.3.1 eliminates this vulnerability. The upgrade is hosted for download at github.com. Applying the patch 73345ab6b0eb7e59d525dac17a428f043074cef6 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (301024). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• theupdateframework

Name

• go-tuf

Version

• 2.0
• 2.1
• 2.2
• 2.3.0

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf/

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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