How severe is CVE-2023-2253?

CVE-2023-2253 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-2253?

CVE-2023-2253 affects the following packages: github.com/docker/distribution (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2023-2253?

Update github.com/docker/distribution to 2.8.2-beta.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-2253 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-2253 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/docker/distribution. 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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-2253 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2023-2253?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2023-2253 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2023-2253 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2023-2253 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-2253?

CVE-2023-2253 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.9%, placing it in the 56th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-2253?

CVE-2023-2253 is classified as CWE-475 (CWE-475), CWE-770 (CWE-770). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2023-2253 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-2253 was published on June 6, 2023 and was last updated on April 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹 Go

CVE-2023-2253

MEDIUM

distribution catalog API endpoint can lead to OOM via malicious user input

Also known asGHSA-hqxw-f8mx-cpmwGO-2023-1772

Published

Jun 6, 2023

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk56th percentile+0.79%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

🐹github.com/docker/distribution

Real-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

A flaw was found in the /v2/_catalog endpoint in distribution/distribution, which accepts a parameter to control the maximum number of records returned (query string: n). This vulnerability allows a malicious user to submit an unreasonably large value for n, causing the allocation of a massive string array, possibly causing a denial of service through excessive use of memory.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/docker/distribution`	all versions	2.8.2-beta.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/docker/distribution. 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 github.com/docker/distribution to 2.8.2-beta.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-2253 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-2023-2253 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-2023-2253. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

A flaw was found in the `/v2/_catalog` endpoint in distribution/distribution, which accepts a parameter to control the maximum number of records returned (query string: `n`). This vulnerability allows a malicious user to submit an unreasonably large value for `n,` causing the allocation of a massive string array, possibly causing a denial of service through excessive use of memory.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2023-2253 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2023-2253 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works