GHSA-cjr9-mr35-7xh6
HIGHSpiceDB binding metrics port to untrusted networks and can leak command-line flags
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
github.com/authzed/spicedbReal-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
Background
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.
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.
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-addrflag 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
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/authzed/spicedb | all versions | 1.19.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/authzed/spicedb. 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/authzed/spicedb to 1.19.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-cjr9-mr35-7xh6 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-cjr9-mr35-7xh6 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-cjr9-mr35-7xh6. 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-cjr9-mr35-7xh6 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-cjr9-mr35-7xh6 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.