Libp2pApplication · Protocol

CVE-2022-23487

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.38.0 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
js-libp2p is the official javascript Implementation of libp2p networking stack. Versions older than `v0.38.0` of js-libp2p are vulnerable to targeted resource exhaustion attacks. These attacks target libp2p’s connection, stream, peer, and memory management. An attacker can cause the allocation of large amounts of memory, ultimately leading to the process getting killed by the host’s operating system. While a connection manager tasked with keeping the number of connections within manageable limits has been part of js-libp2p, this component was designed to handle the regular churn of peers, not a targeted resource exhaustion attack. Users are advised to update their js-libp2p dependency to `v0.38.0` or greater. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

js-libp2p versions before v0.38.0 contain a vulnerability in their connection, stream, peer, and memory management systems. The built-in connection manager was designed to handle normal peer churn but cannot defend against targeted resource exhaustion attacks, allowing attackers to allocate excessive memory until the OS kills the process.

MitigationUpdate the js-libp2p dependency to version v0.38.0 or greater to obtain the fixed connection manager that can withstand targeted resource exhaustion attacks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Libp2pApplication
Affected:< 0.38.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate js-libp2p installation
    Run 'npm list js-libp2p' or inspect your project's package.json dependencies to identify the installed version of the js-libp2p library
    Affected if The version shown is less than 0.38.0 (for example, 0.37.0, 0.36.0, etc.)
  2. Verify package.json version entry
    Open node_modules/js-libp2p/package.json and check the 'version' field at the top of the file
    Affected if The version field reads less than 0.38.0 (such as 0.37.x or earlier)
  3. Confirm connection manager is in use
    Inspect your code for js-libp2p configuration that includes the default connection manager (look for ConnectionManager in your config or default peer connection behavior)
    Affected if Your js-libp2p setup uses the default connection manager and the version is below 0.38.0

You are affected if your installed js-libp2p version is below 0.38.0 and your application uses the default connection manager for peer connections.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 0.38.0 or later
Fixed in 0.38.0
Interim mitigation

Update the js-libp2p dependency to version v0.38.0 or greater to obtain the fixed connection manager that can withstand targeted resource exhaustion attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

v0.38.0

  1. Update js-libp2p dependency to version 0.38.0 or greater by running: npm update libp2p or npm install libp2p@^0.38.0
  2. Verify the update was successful by checking the installed version: npm list libp2p
  3. Restart the application to ensure the new version is loaded

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Libp2p Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-23487 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-23487 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data