How severe is GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j?

GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j?

GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j affects the following packages: google.golang.org/protobuf (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j?

Update google.golang.org/protobuf to 1.29.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for google.golang.org/protobuf. 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.

How do I mitigate GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j?

GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.1%, placing it in the 61th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j?

GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j is classified as Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j was published on March 14, 2023 and was last updated on February 4, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹 Go

GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j

HIGH

google.golang.org/protobuf vulnerable to panic leading to denial of service

Also known asCVE-2023-24535GO-2023-1631

Published

Mar 14, 2023

Updated

Feb 4, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk61th percentile+0.70%

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

1 pkg affected

🐹google.golang.org/protobuf

Real-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

Parsing invalid messages can panic.

Parsing a text-format message which contains a potential number consisting of a minus sign, one or more characters of whitespace, and no further input will cause a panic.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`google.golang.org/protobuf`	≥ 1.29.0&&< 1.29.1	1.29.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for google.golang.org/protobuf. 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 google.golang.org/protobuf to 1.29.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j 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-hw7c-3rfg-p46j 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-hw7c-3rfg-p46j. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Parsing invalid messages can panic. Parsing a text-format message which contains a potential number consisting of a minus sign, one or more characters of whitespace, and no further input will cause a panic.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-hw7c-3rfg-p46j across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works