GHSA-q3j6-22wf-3jh9 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap. A fix is available for github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap — see the affected versions and patch details below.
github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap vulnerable to DOS unbounded persistent memory leak
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-q3j6-22wf-3jh9.
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-q3j6-22wf-3jh9 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 377,333 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/ipfs/go-bitswapReal-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
This package has been moved to github.com/ipfs/boxo/bitswap, this vulnerability is tracked there: https://github.com/ipfs/boxo/security/advisories/GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 (CVE-2023-25568)
Remediation
This is a two step process:
- Apply one of:
- (recommended) upgrade from
github.com/ipfs/go-bitswaptogithub.com/ipfs/boxo/bitswap. - If you are still using
github.com/ipfs/go-bitswapand cannot upgrade toboxo, you can upgrade togithub.com/ipfs/[email protected], this will replace thego-bitswapimplementation by stubs which points toboxo.
- (recommended) upgrade from
- Open https://github.com/ipfs/boxo/security/advisories/GHSA-m974-xj4j-7qv5 and then follow
boxo's remediation section.
Vulnerable symbols
>= v0.9.0; < v0.12.0github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/server/internal/decision.(*Engine).MessageReceivedgithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/server/internal/decision.(*Engine).NotifyNewBlocksgithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/server/internal/decision.(*Engine).findOrCreategithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/server/internal/decision.(*Engine).PeerConnected
v0.8.0github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).MessageReceivedgithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).NotifyNewBlocksgithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).findOrCreategithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).PeerConnected
< v0.8.0github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).MessageReceivedgithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).receiveBlocksFromgithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).findOrCreategithub.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/internal/decision.(*Engine).PeerConnected
Workarounds
If you are using the stubs at github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap and not taking advantage of the features provided by the server, refactoring your code to use the new split API will allows you to run in a client-only mode using: github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap/client.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap | all versions | 0.12.0go get github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap@v0.12.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/ipfs/go-bitswap to 0.12.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-q3j6-22wf-3jh9 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-q3j6-22wf-3jh9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-q3j6-22wf-3jh9. 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-q3j6-22wf-3jh9 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-q3j6-22wf-3jh9 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.