CVE-2023-43617 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) Information Exposure vulnerability in github.com/schollz/croc/v9. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/schollz/croc/v9 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Cros secrets may be disclosed to untrusted relay
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-43617.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
github.com/schollz/croc/v9Real-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
An issue was discovered in Croc through 9.6.5. When a custom shared secret is used, the sender and receiver may divulge parts of this secret to an untrusted Relay, as part of composing a room name.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/schollz/croc/v9 | all versions | 9.6.16go get github.com/schollz/croc/v9@v9.6.16 |
Affected Products
crocschollzResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/schollz/croc/v9, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/schollz/croc/v9 to 9.6.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-43617 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Assume what was exposed is already known: rotate any credential, token or key that the affected component could return, restrict the endpoint to callers that genuinely need it, and strip sensitive fields from responses and error output at the boundary rather than relying on the client not to read them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-43617 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.