CVE-2023-6681: jwcrypto Denial of Service Vulnerability and Resource Exhaustion Risk

jwcrypto Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

12/02/2024

Disclosed on

CVE-2023-6681

CVE

Yes i

Fix available

Moderate

Severity

5.3

CVSS Score

CVE-2023-6681: A vulnerability was found in JWCrypto. Affects jwcrypto versions < 1.5.1. Fixed in 1.5.1. How to fix ↓

Also tracked for

python-jwcrypto · Debian:11

The same CVE-2023-6681 is tracked separately for each ecosystem and vendor. Its fix information is the same; the package and affected versions differ.

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Background

jwcrypto is a Python library that provides tools for working with JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and other cryptographic operations. It is widely used for secure token generation and validation in web applications. However, a vulnerability has been identified that can lead to denial of service (DoS) attacks, making it crucial for users to understand and address this issue promptly.

Vulnerability Detail

A vulnerability was found in jwcrypto that allows attackers to execute denial of service (DoS) attacks. This flaw can make password brute-force and dictionary attacks more resource-intensive, leading to significant computational consumption. The issue arises from the way certain cryptographic operations are handled, which can be exploited to exhaust system resources, resulting in service unavailability.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

1.5.1

This is the first release that contains the fix.

pip install --upgrade "jwcrypto==1.5.1"

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Workaround

As a temporary workaround, consider implementing rate limiting on authentication attempts to mitigate the impact of potential brute-force attacks while you update the package.

Conclusion

The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-6681 in the jwcrypto package poses a risk of denial of service attacks and resource exhaustion. It is essential for users to update to version 1.5.1 or later to protect their applications. Implementing rate limiting can serve as a temporary measure while the update is performed.

See every vulnerability recorded for jwcrypto →