GHSA-9623-mj7j-p9v4
MEDIUMQuarkus potentially leaks data when duplicating a duplicated context
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx☕io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx☕io.quarkus:quarkus-vertxReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
Vert.x 4.5.12 has changed the semantics of the duplication of duplicated context.
Duplicated context is an object used to propagate data through a processing (synchronous or asynchronous). Each "transaction" or "processing" runs on its own isolated duplicated context.
Initially, duplicating a duplicated context was creating a fresh (empty) new context, meaning that the new duplicated context can be used to managed a separated transaction.
In Vert.x 4.5.12, this semantics has changed, and since the content of the parent duplicated context is copied into the new one, potentially leaking data.
This CVE is especially for Quarkus as Quarkus extensively uses the Vert.x duplicated context to implement context propagation. With the new semantic data from one transaction can leak to the data from another transaction. From a Vert.x point of view, this new semantic clarifies the behavior.
A significant amount of data is stored in the duplicated context, including request scope, security details, and metadata. Duplicating a duplicated context is rather rare and is only done in a few places:
- Quarkus REST Client when using OTel (but it's the same transaction, so no leak)
- Quarkus Messaging connectors
- Quarkus SmallRye Health (same transaction, so no leak)
Patches
After discussion with the Vert.x team, the change will be rolled back in Vert.x 4.x. A new API will be added to Vert.x 5 do distinguish the 2 cases.
Workarounds
When duplicating a duplicated context, the following code can be done to avoid the potential leak:
((ContextInternal) VertxContext.getRootContext(ctx)).duplicate()
This workaround would not be required once the Vert.x version containing the fix will be included. Note that the workaround would still work.
References
This issue have been reported in https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/48227.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx | all versions | 3.15.6 |
| ☕Maven | io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx | ≥ 3.16.0.CR1&&< 3.20.2 | 3.20.2 |
| ☕Maven | io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx | ≥ 3.21.0.CR1&&< 3.24.1 | 3.24.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx. 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 io.quarkus:quarkus-vertx to 3.15.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9623-mj7j-p9v4 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 GHSA-9623-mj7j-p9v4 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 GHSA-9623-mj7j-p9v4. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-9623-mj7j-p9v4 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-9623-mj7j-p9v4 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.