GHSA-rfxf-mf63-cpqv
MEDIUMopen-telemetry has an Observable Timing Discrepancy
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.
Blast Radius
github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/extension/bearertokenauthextensionReal-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
Summary
The bearertokenauth extension's server authenticator performs a simple, non-constant time string comparison of the received & configured bearer tokens.
Details
For background on the type of vulnerability, see https://ropesec.com/articles/timing-attacks/.
Impact
This impacts anyone using the bearertokenauth server authenticator. Malicious clients with network access to the collector may perform a timing attack against a collector with this authenticator to guess the configured token, by iteratively sending tokens and comparing the response time. This would allow an attacker to introduce fabricated or bad data into the collector's telemetry pipeline.
Fix
The observable timing vulnerability was fixed by @axw in v0.107.0 (PR https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/pull/34516) by using constant-time comparison.
Workarounds
- upgrade to v0.107.0 or above, or, if you're unable to upgrade at this time,
- don't expose the receiver using
bearertokenauthto network segments accessible by potential attackers, or - change the receiver to use a different authentication extension instead, or
- disable the receiver relying on
bearertokenauth
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/extension/bearertokenauthextension | ≥ 0.80.0&&< 0.107.0 | 0.107.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/extension/bearertokenauthextension. 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 github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/extension/bearertokenauthextension to 0.107.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-rfxf-mf63-cpqv 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-rfxf-mf63-cpqv 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-rfxf-mf63-cpqv. 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-rfxf-mf63-cpqv in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-rfxf-mf63-cpqv across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.