How severe is CVE-2023-29193?

CVE-2023-29193 has a CVSS score of 8.7/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-29193?

CVE-2023-29193 affects the following packages: github.com/authzed/spicedb (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2023-29193?

Update github.com/authzed/spicedb to 1.19.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29193 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-29193 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/authzed/spicedb, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-29193 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.

Is CVE-2023-29193 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2023-29193 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-2023-29193?

CVE-2023-29193 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.8%, placing it in the 55th 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-2023-29193?

CVE-2023-29193 is classified as CWE-209 (CWE-209). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2023-29193 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-29193 was published on April 14, 2023 and was last updated on October 28, 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

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2023-29193 — spicedb

HIGHFix: authzed/spicedb@9bbd7d7

CVE-2023-29193 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.7) CWE-209 vulnerability in github.com/authzed/spicedb. A fix is available for github.com/authzed/spicedb — see the affected versions and patch details below.

SpiceDB binding metrics port to untrusted networks and can leak command-line flags

Also known asGHSA-cjr9-mr35-7xh6GO-2023-1723

Published

Apr 14, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 4, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-29193.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs55th percentile — riskier than 55% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐹github.com/authzed/spicedb

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

SpiceDB is an open source, Google Zanzibar-inspired, database system for creating and managing security-critical application permissions. The spicedb serve command contains a flag named --grpc-preshared-key which is used to protect the gRPC API from being accessed by unauthorized requests. The values of this flag are to be considered sensitive, secret data. The /debug/pprof/cmdline endpoint served by the metrics service (defaulting running on port 9090) reveals the command-line flags provided for debugging purposes. If a password is set via the --grpc-preshared-key then the key is revealed by this endpoint along with any other flags provided to the SpiceDB binary. This issue has been fixed in version 1.19.1.

Impact

All deployments abiding by the recommended best practices for production usage are NOT affected:

Authzed's SpiceDB Serverless
Authzed's SpiceDB Dedicated
SpiceDB Operator

Users configuring SpiceDB via environment variables are NOT affected.

Users MAY be affected if they expose their metrics port to an untrusted network and are configuring --grpc-preshared-key via command-line flag.

Patches

TODO

Workarounds

To workaround this issue you can do one of the following:

Configure the preshared key via an environment variable (e.g. SPICEDB_GRPC_PRESHARED_KEY=yoursecret spicedb serve)
Reconfigure the --metrics-addr flag to bind to a trusted network (e.g. --metrics-addr=localhost:9090)
Disable the metrics service via the flag (e.g. --metrics-enabled=false)
Adopt one of the recommended deployment models: Authzed's managed services or the SpiceDB Operator

References

GitHub Security Advisory issued for SpiceDB
Go issue #22085 for documenting the risks of exposing pprof to the internet
Go issue #42834 discusses preventing pprof registration to the default serve mux
semgrep rule go.lang.security.audit.net.pprof.pprof-debug-exposure checks for a variation of this issue

Credit

We'd like to thank Amit Laish, a security researcher at GE Vernova for responsibly disclosing this vulnerability.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/authzed/spicedb`	all versions	1.19.1`go get github.com/authzed/spicedb@v1.19.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

spicedbauthzed

< 1.19.1

range

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/authzed/spicedb, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/authzed/spicedb to 1.19.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29193 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

SpiceDB is an open source, Google Zanzibar-inspired, database system for creating and managing security-critical application permissions. The `spicedb serve` command contains a flag named `--grpc-preshared-key` which is used to protect the gRPC API from being accessed by unauthorized requests. The values of this flag are to be considered sensitive, secret data. The `/debug/pprof/cmdline` endpoint served by the metrics service (defaulting running on port `9090`) reveals the command-line flags provided for debugging purposes. If a password is set via the `--grpc-preshared-key` then the key is re