CVE-2023-40703: Denial of Service via specially crafted block fields in Mattermost Boards
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.72% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 54% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server/v6 (Go) 7.8.13; github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 (Go) 9.0.2, 9.1.1, 8.1.4.
- Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 4.3, NVD 7.5.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server/v6 (Go) 7.8.13; github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 (Go) 9.0.2, 9.1.1, 8.1.4 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
Mattermost fails to properly limit the characters allowed in different fields of a block in Mattermost Boards allowing a attacker to consume excessive resources, possibly leading to Denial of Service, by patching the field of a block using a specially crafted string.
- Published
- Nov 27, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.7% · 54th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-400
Report tools
Action score
30
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.7%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 7.5
- CNA · Mattermost
- 4.3
- 3.2 point gap
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| mattermost | mattermost | cpe:2.3:a:mattermost:mattermost |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- mattermost mattermostup to 7.8.12 inclusive
- mattermost mattermost8.0.0 and later · up to 8.1.3 inclusive
- mattermost mattermost9.0.0 and later · up to 9.0.1 inclusive
- mattermost mattermost9.1.0
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Mattermost). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Mattermost Mattermost
- 9.1.1, 9.0.2, 7.8.13, 8.1.4not affected
- up to and including 8.1.3affected · semver
- up to and including 9.0.1affected · semver
- up to and including 7.8.12affected · semver
- up to and including 9.1.0affected · semver
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server/v6 | before 7.8.13 | 7.8.13 |
| Go | github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 | from 9.0.0 · before 9.0.2 | 9.0.2 |
| Go | github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 | from 9.1.0 · before 9.1.1 | 9.1.1 |
| Go | github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 | before 8.1.4 | 8.1.4 |
Same product
mattermost: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2024-39777Malicious remote can invite itself to an arbitrary local channel38Monitor
- CVE-2023-2193Oauth authorization codes do not expire when deauthorizing an oauth2 app36Monitor
- CVE-2019-20851An issue was discovered in Mattermost Mobile Apps before 1.26.0.36Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2023-47865Nov 27, 2023 · Username and Icon override can be used by members when Hardened Mode is enabled17Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2023-35075Nov 27, 2023 · HTML injection via channel autocomplete21Monitor
- Later →CVE-2023-43754Nov 27, 2023 · Permalink previews displayed for posts in archived channels even if users are disallowed to view archived channels17Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Go:github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server/v6 | 7.8.13 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Go:github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 | 8.1.4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Go:github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 | 9.0.2 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Go:github.com/mattermost/mattermost/server/v8 | 9.1.1 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- vultza (vultza)finder
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2023-482680 days apartDenial of Service via Board Import Zip Bomb30Monitor
- CVE-2023-519659 days apartDoS via Channel Notification Properties26Monitor
- CVE-2023-2793164 days apartStack exhaustion in PreparePostForClientWithEmbedsAndImages26Monitor
- CVE-2023-2831164 days apartDenial of Service while unescaping a Markdown string26Monitor
- CVE-2022-2406501 days apartMalicious imports can lead to Denial of Service26Monitor
- CVE-2023-483690 days apartLog Flooding due to specially crafted requests in different endpoints21Monitor
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-400 · Uncontrolled Resource ConsumptionCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Root cause
Code that parses nested structures sets no depth or size limit. A small input can turn into a disproportionate processing load.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-400 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
function expand(node) {
return node.children.map(expand);
}Fixed
const MAX_DEPTH = 32;
function expand(node, depth = 0) {
if (depth > MAX_DEPTH) throw new Error("too deep");
return node.children.map((c) => expand(c, depth + 1));
}Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.