GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-770 vulnerability in github.com/elastic/beats. A fix is available for github.com/elastic/beats — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Elasticsearch Packetbeat has Excessive Allocation of Memory and CPU via Malicious IPv4 Fragments
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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 GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/elastic/beats🐹github.com/elastic/beats🐹github.com/elastic/beats🐹github.com/elastic/beats/v7Real-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
Allocation of resources without limits or throttling (CWE-770) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause excessive allocation (CAPEC-130) of memory and CPU via the integration of malicious IPv4 fragments, leading to denial-of-service in Packetbeat.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/elastic/beats | ≥ 8.6.0&&< 8.19.9 | 8.19.9go get github.com/elastic/beats@v8.19.9 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/elastic/beats | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.1.9 | 9.1.9go get github.com/elastic/beats@v9.1.9 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/elastic/beats | ≥ 9.2.0&&< 9.2.3 | 9.2.3go get github.com/elastic/beats@v9.2.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/elastic/beats/v7 | all versions | 7.0.0-alpha2.0.20251209162832-28cfc80d2f4ego get github.com/elastic/beats/v7@v7.0.0-alpha2.0.20251209162832-28cfc80d2f4e |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/elastic/beats, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/elastic/beats to 8.19.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv. 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-fj69-23m4-ccvv in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-fj69-23m4-ccvv across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.