GHSA-x6g4-f6q3-fqvv
HIGHNATS credentials are exposed in monitoring port via command-line argv
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/nats-io/nats-server/v2🐹github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2Real-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
Background
NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing.
The nats-server provides an optional monitoring port, which provides access to sensitive data. The nats-server can take certain configuration options on the command-line instead of requiring a configuration file.
Problem Description
If a nats-server is run with static credentials for all clients provided via argv (the command-line), then those credentials are visible to any user who can see the monitoring port, if that too is enabled.
The /debug/vars end-point contains an unredacted copy of argv.
Patches
Fixed in nats-server 2.12.6 & 2.11.15
Workarounds
The NATS Maintainers are bemused at the concept of someone deploying a real configuration using --pass to avoid a config file, but also enabling monitoring.
Configure credentials inside a configuration file instead of via argv.
Do not enable the monitoring port if using secrets in argv.
Best practice remains to not expose the monitoring port to the Internet, or to untrusted network sources.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 | all versions | 2.11.15 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 | ≥ 2.12.0-RC.1&&< 2.12.6 | 2.12.6 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2. 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/nats-io/nats-server/v2 to 2.11.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-x6g4-f6q3-fqvv 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-x6g4-f6q3-fqvv 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-x6g4-f6q3-fqvv. 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-x6g4-f6q3-fqvv in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-x6g4-f6q3-fqvv across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.