GHSA-w9mh-5x8j-9754
MEDIUMMalicious Matrix homeserver can leak truncated message content of messages it shouldn't have access to
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
matrix-appservice-ircReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
The fix for GHSA-wm4w-7h2q-3pf7 / CVE-2024-32000 included in matrix-appservice-irc 2.0.0 relied on the Matrix homeserver-provided timestamp to determine whether a user has access to the event they're replying to when determining whether or not to include a truncated version of the original event in the IRC message. Since this value is controlled by external entities, a malicious Matrix homeserver joined to a room in which a matrix-appservice-irc bridge instance (before version 2.0.1) is present can fabricate the timestamp with the intent of tricking the bridge into leaking room messages the homeserver should not have access to.
Patches
matrix-appservice-irc 2.0.1 drops the reliance on origin_server_ts when determining whether or not an event should be visible to a user, instead tracking the event timestamps internally.
Workarounds
It's possible to limit the amount of information leaked by setting a reply template that doesn't contain the original message. See these lines in the configuration file.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at security at matrix.org.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | matrix-appservice-irc | all versions | 2.0.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for matrix-appservice-irc. 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 matrix-appservice-irc to 2.0.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-w9mh-5x8j-9754 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-w9mh-5x8j-9754 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-w9mh-5x8j-9754. 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-w9mh-5x8j-9754 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-w9mh-5x8j-9754 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.