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CVE

CVE-2023-33953

gRPC contains a vulnerability that allows hpack table accounting errors could lead to unwanted disconnects between clien

gRPC contains a vulnerability that allows hpack table accounting errors could lead to unwanted disconnects between clients and servers in exceptional cases/ Three vectors were found that allow the following DOS attacks: - Unbounded memory buffering in the HPACK parser - Unbounded CPU consumption in the HPACK parser The unbounded CPU consumption is down to a copy that occurred per-input-block in the parser, and because that could be unbounded due to the memory copy bug we end up with an O(n^2) parsing loop, with n selected by the client. The unbounded memory buffering bugs: - The header size limit check was behind the string reading code, so we needed to first buffer up to a 4 gigabyte string before rejecting it as longer than 8 or 16kb. - HPACK varints have an encoding quirk whereby an infinite number of 0’s can be added at the start of an integer. gRPC’s hpack parser needed to read all of them before concluding a parse. - gRPC’s metadata overflow check was performed per frame, so that the following sequence of frames could cause infinite buffering: HEADERS: containing a: 1 CONTINUATION: containing a: 2 CONTINUATION: containing a: 3 etc….

HIGH · CVSS 7.5 EPSS 0.00124
Act now
  • Public exploit or PoC is available
  • SSVC automatable: yes - attacks can be scripted at scale
  • CVSS base score ≥ 7.0
Sigma rules0 YARA rules0
Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots
How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch
This page is every public fact about CVE-2023-33953, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.
Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:
CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked. EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal. CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score. Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.
How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.
Then what - two workflows:
Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits. PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.
Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).

Affected Products & Versions

4
grpc< 1.53.2
grpc>= 1.54.0 and < 1.54.3
grpc>= 1.55.0 and < 1.55.2
grpc>= 1.56.0 and < 1.56.2

Affected Packages

7
Language-ecosystem packages (from OSV) tied to this CVE, with the version that fixes it - the dependency-level detail NVD doesn’t carry.
PyPI grpcio HIGH fixed in 1.53.2
RubyGems grpc HIGH fixed in 1.53.2
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS grpc
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS grpc
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS grpc
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS grpc
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS grpc

Public Exploits & PoCs

2
These PoC and exploit links come from public sources and are not verified to be safe or functional. Review the code before running anything, and treat unverified entries as untrusted.
📦

Fixed versions by distribution

10
The package version that resolves this CVE on each Linux distribution, from the vendor’s published security data. fixed in shows a patched version exists; open means the package is listed as affected with no fix yet.
rhel 9rhc-worker-playbook open
suse sle15grpc-devel fixed in 0:1.60.0-150600.15.3.1
suse sle15libgrpc++1 fixed in 0:1.25.0-150200.3.10.1
suse sle15libgrpc++1_60 fixed in 0:1.60.0-150400.8.3.2
suse sle15libgrpc1_60 fixed in 0:1.60.0-150600.15.3.1
suse sle15libgrpc37 fixed in 0:1.60.0-150400.8.3.2
suse sle15libgrpc8 fixed in 0:1.25.0-150200.3.10.1
suse sle15libupb37 fixed in 0:1.60.0-150600.15.3.1
suse sle15python3-grpcio fixed in 0:1.25.0-150200.3.10.1
suse sle15python311-grpcio fixed in 0:1.60.0-150400.9.3.2

Scoring & Timeline

7.5
HIGH · CVSS v3.1 · [email protected]
View on NVD
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
Published to NVD09 Aug 2023 · 01:15 PM
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
SSVC triage · cisa-vulnrichment
Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial
SSVC asks the questions that actually drive patch urgency: is it being exploited, can attacks be automated, and how total is the impact.

Vendor Advisories

7
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2026:0840-1
siemens-csafSSA-093430
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2024:0573-1
rhsaRHSA-2024:10761Important
🔗

References & Sources

1
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.
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