What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-38701?

CVE-2023-38701 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.9%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2023-38701?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2023-38701. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 0.9%.

Hydra CVE-2023-38701

CRITICAL

Improper Input Validation (CWE-20)

2023-10-04 security-advisories@github.com

Information Disclosure Hydra Iohk

9.1

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-20 OWASP Top 10:2025 A05:2025 - Injection ASVS 5.0 V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
Impact	CVSS score of 9.1 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the critical-severity affected system.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity + public POC available.

No patch listed yet 0.9% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Hydra is the layer-two scalability solution for Cardano. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-20. Hydra is the layer-two scalability solution for Cardano. Users of the Hydra head protocol send the UTxOs they wish to commit into the Hydra head first to the commit validator, where they remain until they are either collected into the head validator or the protocol initialisation is aborted and the value in the committed UTxOs is returned to the users who committed them. Prior to version 0.12.0, the commit validator contains a flawed check when the ViaAbort redeemer is used, which allows any user to spend any UTxO which is at the validator arbitrarily, meaning an attacker can steal the funds that users are trying to commit into the head validator. The intended behavior is that the funds must be returned to the user which committed the funds and can only be performed by a participant of the head. The initial validator also is similarly affected as the same flawed check is performed for the ViaAbort redeemer. Due to this issue, an attacker can steal any funds that user's try to commit into a Hydra head. Also, an attacker can prevent any Hydra head from being successfully opened. It does not allow an attacker to take funds which have been successfully collected into and currently reside in the head validator. Version 0.12.0 contains a fix for this issue. Affected products include: Iohk Hydra. Version information: version 0.12.0.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.1 CRITICAL

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

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

Hydra is the layer-two scalability solution for Cardano. Users of the Hydra head protocol send the UTxOs they wish to commit into the Hydra head first to the commit validator, where they remain until they are either collected into the head validator or the protocol initialisation is aborted and the value in the committed UTxOs is returned to the users who committed them. Prior to version 0.12.0, the commit validator contains a flawed check when the ViaAbort redeemer is used, which allows any user to spend any UTxO which is at the validator arbitrarily, meaning an attacker can steal the funds that users are trying to commit into the head validator. The intended behavior is that the funds must be returned to the user which committed the funds and can only be performed by a participant of the head. The initial validator also is similarly affected as the same flawed check is performed for the ViaAbort redeemer. Due to this issue, an attacker can steal any funds that user's try to commit into a Hydra head. Also, an attacker can prevent any Hydra head from being successfully opened. It does not allow an attacker to take funds which have been successfully collected into and currently reside in the head validator. Version 0.12.0 contains a fix for this issue.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.9%

Top 44% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity CRITICAL

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 0.9%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

CRITICAL severity + public POC available

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +1

CVSS: +46

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.