CVE-2020-15114
HIGHCVE-2020-15114 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.7) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in go.etcd.io/etcd. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-15114 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Etcd Gateway can include itself as an endpoint resulting in resource exhaustion
Real-World Exposure
go.etcd.io/etcd🐹go.etcd.io/etcdReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10, the etcd gateway is a simple TCP proxy to allow for basic service discovery and access. However, it is possible to include the gateway address as an endpoint. This results in a denial of service, since the endpoint can become stuck in a loop of requesting itself until there are no more available file descriptors to accept connections on the gateway.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | go.etcd.io/etcd | ≥ 3.4.0-rc.0&&< 3.4.10 | 3.4.10 |
| 🐹Go | go.etcd.io/etcd | all versions | 3.3.23 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for go.etcd.io/etcd. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update go.etcd.io/etcd to 3.4.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-15114 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-15114 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-15114. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-15114 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-15114 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.