CVE-2023-34234 json
Governor proposal creation may be blocked by frontrunning in OpenZeppelin
published 2023-06-07 3 y ago modified 2026-09-10 1 mo ago also GHSA-5h3x-9wvq-w4m2 , EUVD-2023-1704
- cvss
- 5.3
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.6%
- EPSS 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 48%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for smart contract development. By frontrunning the creation of a proposal, an attacker can become the proposer and gain the ability to cancel it. The attacker can do this repeatedly to try to prevent a proposal from being proposed at all. This impacts the `Governor` contract in v4.9.0 only, and the `GovernorCompatibilityBravo` contract since v4.3.0. This problem has been patched in 4.9.1 by introducing opt-in frontrunning protection. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may submit the proposal creation transaction to an endpoint with frontrunning protection as a workaround.
Patch / fix
- npm @openzeppelin/contracts 4.9.1
- npm @openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeable 4.9.1
- openzeppelin contracts 4.9.1
- openzeppelin contracts_upgradeable 4.9.1
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
- Assessed
- 22 mo ago
Exploit prediction
0.60% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 48% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 5.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| NVD | 3.1 | 5.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 5.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | @openzeppelin/contracts | >=4.3.0, <4.9.1 |
4.9.1 |
| npm | @openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeable | >=4.3.0, <4.9.1 |
4.9.1 |
Affected products
- OpenZeppelin openzeppelin-contracts
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-862 Missing Authorization
References
-
github.com
/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/commit/d9474327a492f9f310f31bc53f38dbea56ed9a57
web, patch
-
github.com
/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts-upgradeable/commit/66f390fa516b550838e2c2f65132b5bc2afe1ced
web
-
github.com
/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/security/advisories/GHSA-5h3x-9wvq-w4m2
web, vendor-advisory
-
nvd.nist.gov
/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34234
advisory
-
github.com
/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts
package
-
github.com
/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/releases/tag/v4.9.1
web
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2023-34234
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-5h3x-9wvq-w4m2
- NVD CVE-2023-34234
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