CVE-2023-45873
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Couchbase Server through 7.2.2. A data reader may cause a denial of service (application exist) because of the OOM killer.
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 · moderate confidenceA data reader vulnerability in Couchbase Server up to 7.2.2 allows a malicious or specially crafted read operation to exhaust available memory, triggering the Linux OOM killer and causing the application to exit. The vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking or resource management in the data reader component.
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< 7.2.3CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Couchbase Server versionRun the Couchbase command-line tool to retrieve the installed server version (for example, using cbversion or checking the administration UI), or inspect the server's version file if accessibleAffected if The installed version is lower than 7.2.3 (for example, 7.2.2, 7.2.1, 7.2.0, or any 7.x version below 7.2.3)
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Confirm data reader component is in useVerify that the Couchbase Server instance is actively handling read operations (the vulnerability applies to any read operation, so any running instance that serves queries or retrieves documents is using the affected component)Affected if The server is operational and handling read operations, which is the default behavior for any running Couchbase instance below version 7.2.3
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Check memory consumption patternsMonitor the server's memory usage over time using system tools (for example, checking process memory or using monitoring tools that track the Couchbase Server process)Affected if Memory usage grows unexpectedly large during normal read operations, or the OOM killer has been invoked (check system logs for oom-killer messages)
If the installed Couchbase Server version is below 7.2.3 and the server is handling read operations, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped7.2.3
Upgrade to Couchbase Server version 7.2.3 or later which contains the patch for this vulnerability. Monitor memory usage patterns as a defensive control until the upgrade can be performed.
Couchbase Server 7.2.3
- Ensure you have a complete backup of your Couchbase Server data before upgrading
- Review the Couchbase Server 7.2.3 release notes for any pre-upgrade requirements
- Stop all Couchbase Server services and applications connected to the database
- Upgrade Couchbase Server to version 7.2.3 using your deployment method (CLI, GUI, or package manager)
- After upgrade, restart Couchbase Server services
- Verify that all buckets are accessible and the cluster is healthy
- Test application functionality to confirm the OOM issue is resolved
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-45873 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-45873 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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