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CVE-2023-45129· NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

matrix-synapse vulnerable to denial of service due to malicious server ACL events

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 19/100)

  • 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: 1.3% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 71.6% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. Administrator privileges are required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: matrix-synapse (Debian:14) 1.94.0-1; matrix-synapse (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 1.94.0-2.1; matrix-synapse (PyPI) 1.94.0.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to matrix-synapse (Debian:14) 1.94.0-1; matrix-synapse (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 1.94.0-2.1; matrix-synapse (PyPI) 1.94.0 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

Synapse is an open-source Matrix homeserver written and maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation. Prior to version 1.94.0, a malicious server ACL event can impact performance temporarily or permanently leading to a persistent denial of service. Homeservers running on a closed federation (which presumably do not need to use server ACLs) are not affected. Server administrators are advised to upgrade to Synapse 1.94.0 or later. As a workaround, rooms with malicious server ACL events can be purged and blocked using the admin API.

MediumCVSS 4.9 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 10, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
1.4% · 72th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

19

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
19 / 40 · 4.9 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 1.4%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
4.9
CNA · GitHub_M
4.9
agree

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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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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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.

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Affected 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.

VendorProduct
matrixsynapse
fedoraprojectfedora

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • fedoraproject fedora37
  • fedoraproject fedora38
  • matrix synapsebefore 1.94.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • matrix-org synapse

    • < 1.94.0affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:14matrix-synapsebefore 1.94.0-11.94.0-1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedmatrix-synapsebefore 1.94.0-2.11.94.0-2.1
PyPImatrix-synapsebefore 1.94.01.94.0

Same product

matrix: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2019-18835Matrix Synapse before 1.5.0 mishandles signature checking on some federation APIs.
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2018-16515Matrix Synapse before 0.33.3.1 allows remote attackers to spoof events and possibly have unspecified other impacts by leveraging improper tr
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2024-52815Synapse allows a a malformed invite to break the invitee's `/sync`
    34Monitor
  • CVE-2024-53863Synapse can be forced to thumbnail unexpected file formats, invoking external, potentially untrustworthy decoders
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2024-52805Synapse allows unsupported content types to lead to memory exhaustion
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2021-21332Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the password reset endpoint
    32Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:matrix-synapse1.94.0-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:matrix-synapse1.94.0-2.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)
PyPI:matrix-synapse1.94.0Package 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.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

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

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are 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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-770 · Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

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

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (6 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records