CVE-2023-36818Network attack vector

Service interruption via unlimited sidebar links

Published Jul 14, 2023 · Updated Oct 18, 2024

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Discourse 3.1.0beta5 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via sidebar requests. The SidebarSection model accepts an unbounded links collection as nested sidebar_urls attributes when a custom section is created or updated. A signed-in user able to manage a custom sidebar section can exhaust application resources and deny service.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.70%
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 Discourse 3.1.0beta5 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via sidebar requests. The SidebarSection model accepts an unbounded links collection as nested sidebar_urls attributes when a custom section is created or updated. A signed-in user able to manage a custom sidebar section can exhaust application resources and deny service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-36818
Published
Jul 14, 2023
Updated
Oct 18, 2024
Vendor
Discourse
Product
Discourse
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 14, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 18, 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== 3.1.0beta5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Discourse · Discourseversion== 3.1.0beta5

Published CVSS scores

6.5GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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.

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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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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