Critical severity · published Dec 3, 2024
CVE-2024-53863
Synapse can be forced to thumbnail unexpected file formats, invoking external, potentially untrustworthy decoders
9.1
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Synapse is an open-source Matrix homeserver. In Synapse versions before 1.120.1, enabling the dynamic_thumbnails option or processing a specially crafted request could trigger the decoding and thumbnail generation of uncommon image formats, potentially invoking external tools like Ghostscript for processing. This significantly expands the attack surface in a historically vulnerable area, presenting a risk that far outweighs the benefit, particularly since these formats are rarely used on the open web or within the Matrix ecosystem. Synapse 1.120.1 addresses the issue by restricting thumbnail generation to images in the following widely used formats: PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.120.1.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 49% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
SY
synapse · element-hq
< 1.120.1 · source: vendor, NVD, CISA
Affected product
SY
synapse
element-hq
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