CVE-2023-45142Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Denial of service via unbounded HTTP metric labels

Published Oct 12, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025

Denial of service in OpenTelemetry-Go Contrib before 0.44.0 allows remote attackers to exhaust server memory through crafted HTTP traffic. The otelhttp.NewHandler wrapper passes attacker-controlled HTTP method and User-Agent values to httpconv.ServerRequest, creating a distinct metric label for every value. Exposure requires an enabled metrics pipeline, the wrapper in the request path, and no upstream filtering; repeated unique values consume memory until service interruption.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.36%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in OpenTelemetry-Go Contrib before 0.44.0 allows remote attackers to exhaust server memory through crafted HTTP traffic. The otelhttp.NewHandler wrapper passes attacker-controlled HTTP method and User-Agent values to httpconv.ServerRequest, creating a distinct metric label for every value. Exposure requires an enabled metrics pipeline, the wrapper in the request path, and no upstream filtering; repeated unique values consume memory until service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-45142
Published
Oct 12, 2023
Updated
Feb 13, 2025
Vendor
OpenTelemetry
Product
OpenTelemetry-Go Contrib
Classifications
CWE-770, T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 13, 2025Record 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=< 0.44.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenTelemetry · OpenTelemetry-Go Contribversion=< 0.44.0

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.5GitHubCVSS: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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

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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