GHSA-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-475 vulnerability in github.com/docker/distribution. A fix is available for github.com/docker/distribution — see the affected versions and patch details below.
distribution catalog API endpoint can lead to OOM via malicious user input
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw.
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-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw 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 379,145 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/docker/distributionReal-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
Impact
Systems that run distribution built after a specific commit running on memory-restricted environments can suffer from denial of service by a crafted malicious /v2/_catalog API endpoint request.
Patches
Upgrade to at least 2.8.2-beta.1 if you are running v2.8.x release. If you use the code from the main branch, update at least to the commit after f55a6552b006a381d9167e328808565dd2bf77dc.
Workarounds
There is no way to work around this issue without patching. Restrict access to the affected API endpoint: see the recommendations section.
References
/v2/_catalog endpoint accepts a parameter to control the maximum amount of records returned (query string: n).
When not given the default n=100 is used. The server trusts that n has an acceptable value, however when using a
maliciously large value, it allocates an array/slice of n of strings before filling the slice with data.
This behaviour was introduced ~7yrs ago [1].
Recommendation
The /v2/_catalog endpoint was designed specifically to do registry syncs with search or other API systems. Such an endpoint would create a lot of load on the backend system, due to overfetch required to serve a request in certain implementations.
Because of this, we strongly recommend keeping this API endpoint behind heightened privilege and avoiding leaving it exposed to the internet.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in distribution repository
- Email us at [email protected]
[1] faulty commit
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/docker/distribution | all versions | 2.8.2-beta.1go get github.com/docker/distribution@v2.8.2-beta.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/docker/distribution, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/docker/distribution to 2.8.2-beta.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw 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-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| OADP-1.1-RHEL-8 | oadp/oadp-velero-plugin-rhel8:1.1.6-5 | RHSA-2023:5314 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.11 | openshift4/ose-docker-registry:v4.11.0-202310101543.p0.g431737b.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:5697 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 | openshift4/ose-docker-registry:v4.12.0-202309261625.p0.g9e75355.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:5390 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13 | openshift4/ose-docker-registry:v4.13.0-202309120502.p0.gdb5611b.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:5155 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-hqxw-f8mx-cpmw across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.