SpiceDB having multiple caveats on resources of the same type may improperly result in no permissionGHSA-jhg6-6qrx-38mr
LOWFix: authzed/spicedb@20855deGHSA-jhg6-6qrx-38mr is a low-severity (CVSS 3.7) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in github.com/authzed/spicedb. A fix is available for github.com/authzed/spicedb — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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-jhg6-6qrx-38mr.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
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
Multiple caveats over the same indirect subject type on the same relation can result in no permission being returned when permission is expected
For example, given this schema:
definition user {}
caveat somecaveat(somefield int) {
somefield == 42
}
definition group {
relation member: user
}
definition resource {
relation viewer: group#member with somecaveat
permission view = folder->view
}
If the resource has multiple groups, and each group is caveated, it is possible for the returned permission to be "no permission" when permission is expected.
Impact
Permission is returned as NO_PERMISSION when PERMISSION is expected on the CheckPermission API.
Workarounds
Do not use caveats or do not use caveats on an indirect subject type with multiple entries
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/authzed/spicedb | all versions | 1.35.3go get github.com/authzed/spicedb@v1.35.3 |
Affected Products
spicedbauthzedDetection & 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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/authzed/spicedb to 1.35.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jhg6-6qrx-38mr is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-jhg6-6qrx-38mr in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.