What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-40014?

CVE-2023-40014 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.6%.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-40014?

Yes, a patch is available for CVE-2023-40014. Update the affected software to the latest version immediately.

Openzeppelin Contracts CVE-2023-40014

MEDIUM

Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output (CWE-116)

2023-08-10 security-advisories@github.com

Information Disclosure Openzeppelin Contracts Openzeppelin Contracts Upgradable Openzeppelin

5.3

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-116 OWASP Top 10:2025 A05:2025 - Injection ASVS 5.0 V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding for downstream
Impact	CVSS score of 5.3 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the medium-severity affected system.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

Patch available 0.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affected Packages

npm @openzeppelin/contracts fix: 4.9.3

npm @openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeable fix: 4.9.3

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in npm

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-116. OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. Starting in version 4.0.0 and prior to version 4.9.3, contracts using ERC2771Context along with a custom trusted forwarder may see _msgSender return address(0) in calls that originate from the forwarder with calldata shorter than 20 bytes. This combination of circumstances does not appear to be common, in particular it is not the case for MinimalForwarder from OpenZeppelin Contracts, or any deployed forwarder the team is aware of, given that the signer address is appended to all calls that originate from these forwarders. The problem has been patched in v4.9.3. Affected products include: Openzeppelin Openzeppelin Contracts, Openzeppelin Openzeppelin Contracts-Upgradable. Version information: version 4.0.0.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.3 MEDIUM

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

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

Low

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. Starting in version 4.0.0 and prior to version 4.9.3, contracts using ERC2771Context along with a custom trusted forwarder may see _msgSender return address(0) in calls that originate from the forwarder with calldata shorter than 20 bytes. This combination of circumstances does not appear to be common, in particular it is not the case for MinimalForwarder from OpenZeppelin Contracts, or any deployed forwarder the team is aware of, given that the signer address is appended to all calls that originate from these forwarders. The problem has been patched in v4.9.3.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.6%

Top 55% exploitable

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 MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.6%

Patch available Yes

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

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

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +1

CVSS: +26

PoC: 0

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.