CVE-2023-46133 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) CWE-328 vulnerability in crypto-es. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2023-46133 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
crypto-es PBKDF2 1,000 times weaker than specified in 1993 and 1.3M times weaker than current standard
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
crypto-esnpmDescription
CryptoES is a cryptography algorithms library compatible with ES6 and TypeScript. Prior to version 2.1.0, CryptoES PBKDF2 is 1,000 times weaker than originally specified in 1993, and at least 1,300,000 times weaker than current industry standard. This is because it both defaults to SHA1, a cryptographic hash algorithm considered insecure since at least 2005, and defaults to one single iteration, a 'strength' or 'difficulty' value specified at 1,000 when specified in 1993. PBKDF2 relies on iteration count as a countermeasure to preimage and collision attacks. If used to protect passwords, the impact is high. If used to generate signatures, the impact is high. Version 2.1.0 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, configure CryptoES to use SHA256 with at least 250,000 iterations.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | crypto-es | all versions | 2.1.0 |
Research 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 crypto-es. 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 crypto-es to 2.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-46133 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-2023-46133 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-2023-46133. 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-2023-46133 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-46133 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.