GHSA-vhvq-fv9f-wh4q
LookupResources Cursor section tampering can crash SpiceDB process via tuple.MustParse panic
Blast Radius
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Description
Description
A malformed or tampered-with LookupResources Cursor token can cause a panic in the SpiceDB process if it fails to parse. If an attacker were able to make requests to a SpiceDB instance, they could affect its availability.
Reproduction
If one was to take a cursor from a LookupResources call, decode it according to the logic that SpiceDB uses, and modify the Sections field to include an invalid relationship string, the process will panic.
Impact
An attacker would need both the ability to create a gRPC connection to your SpiceDB instance and a valid token, or else the ability to pass a cursor token from outside your application through to your SpiceDB instance.
If an attacker had this ability, they could bring down SpiceDB instances, reducing the availability of SpiceDB and any service that depends on it.
Mechanism
The SpiceDB process does not validate the contents of this Sections component of the Cursor message. In affected versions, it uses a parsing function that calls panic if the value cannot be parsed as a relationship.
Fix
This issue was fixed in https://github.com/authzed/spicedb/pull/2878.
Remediations
- Prevent client control of the
optional_cursorfield inLookupResourcescalls - Upgrade to an unaffected version
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/authzed/spicedb | ≥ 1.29.3&&< 1.49.1 | 1.49.1 |
Detection & 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. 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/authzed/spicedb to 1.49.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vhvq-fv9f-wh4q 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-vhvq-fv9f-wh4q 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-vhvq-fv9f-wh4q. 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-vhvq-fv9f-wh4q in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-vhvq-fv9f-wh4q across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.