GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27 — nova
Fix: openstack/nova@52ad911GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27 is a CWE-310 vulnerability in nova. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for nova — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenStack Nova Denial of Service in network source security groups
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.
Real-World Exposure
novaReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Algorithmic complexity vulnerability in OpenStack Compute (Nova) before 2013.1.3 and Havana before havana-3 does not properly handle network source security group policy updates, which allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (nova-network consumption) via a large number of server-creation operations, which triggers a large number of update requests.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | nova | all versions | 12.0.0a0pip install --upgrade 'nova==12.0.0a0' |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nova, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update nova to 12.0.0a0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27 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-ph2h-hh49-vh27 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| OpenStack 3 for RHEL 6 | openstack-nova-0:2013.1.3-3.el6ost | RHSA-2013:1199 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-ph2h-hh49-vh27 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.