CVE-2023-33958Network attack vector

Host denial of service via unbounded signature processing

Published Jun 6, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Notary Project Notation before 1.0.0-rc.6 allows remote attackers to cause host denial of service via notation verify. The verifier processes an unbounded number of registry signatures because maxSignatureAttempts has no effective default limit, allowing a malicious registry to keep supplying signatures. Exploitation requires a compromised or attacker-controlled registry and a user running verification, and the consequence is service interruption on the host.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.48%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Notary Project Notation before 1.0.0-rc.6 allows remote attackers to cause host denial of service via notation verify. The verifier processes an unbounded number of registry signatures because maxSignatureAttempts has no effective default limit, allowing a malicious registry to keep supplying signatures. Exploitation requires a compromised or attacker-controlled registry and a user running verification, and the consequence is service interruption on the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-33958
Published
Jun 6, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
Notary Project
Product
Notation
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 6, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 1.0.0-rc.6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Notary Project · Notationversion=< 1.0.0-rc.6

Published CVSS scores

5.4GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
6.5National Institute of Standards and TechnologyCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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