Synapse is an open source Matrix homeserver implementation. Lack of validation for device keys in Synapse before 1.138.3 and in Synapse…
GitHub_M·CWE-1287·Published 2025-10-08
Synapse is an open source Matrix homeserver implementation. Lack of validation for device keys in Synapse before 1.138.3 and in Synapse 1.139.0 allow an attacker registered on the victim homeserver to degrade federation functionality, unpredictably breaking outbound federation to other homeservers. The issue is patched in Synapse 1.138.3, 1.138.4, 1.139.1, and 1.139.2. Note that even though 1.138.3 and 1.139.1 fix the vulnerability, they inadvertently introduced an unrelated regression. For this reason, the maintainers of Synapse recommend skipping these releases and upgrading straight to 1.138.4 and 1.139.2.
Synapse is an open source Matrix homeserver implementation. Lack of validation for device keys in Synapse before 1.138.3 and in Synapse 1.139.0 allow an attacker registered on the victim homeserver to degrade federation functionality, unpredictably breaking outbound federation to other homeservers. The issue is patched in Synapse 1.138.3, 1.138.4, 1.139.1, and 1.139.2. Note that even though 1.138.3 and 1.139.1 fix the vulnerability, they inadvertently introduced an unrelated regression. For this reason, the maintainers of Synapse recommend skipping these releases and upgrading straight to 1.138.4 and 1.139.2.
### Impact Lack of validation for device keys in Synapse before 1.138.3 and in Synapse 1.139.0 allow an attacker registered on the victim homeserver to degrade federation functionality, unpredictably breaking outbound federation to other homeservers. ### Patches Patched in Synapse 1.138.3, 1.138.4, 1.139.1, and 1.139.2. Note that even though 1.138.3 and 1.139.1 fix the vulnerability, they inadvertently introduced an unrelated regression. For this reason, it is recommend to skip these releases and upgrading straight to 1.138.4 and 1.139.2. ### Workarounds The vulnerability can only be exploited by users registered on the victim homeserver.
### Impact Lack of validation for device keys in Synapse before 1.138.3 and in Synapse 1.139.0 allow an attacker registered on the victim homeserver to degrade federation functionality, unpredictably breaking outbound federation to other homeservers. ### Patches Patched in Synapse 1.138.3, 1.138.4, 1.139.1, and 1.139.2. Note that even though 1.138.3 and 1.139.1 fix the vulnerability, they inadvertently introduced an unrelated regression. For this reason, it is recommend to skip these releases and upgrading straight to 1.138.4 and 1.139.2. ### Workarounds The vulnerability can only be exploited by users registered on the victim homeserver.
| Version | Type | Source | Base | Exp | Impact | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | Primary | cve.org | 5.3 | — | — | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 4.0 | Primary | cve.org | 5.3 | — | — | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 4.0 | Secondary | NVD | 5.3 | — | — | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X |
| 4.0 | Secondary | GHSA | 5.3 | — | — | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |