CVE-2023-29404: Improper handling of non-optional LDFLAGS in go command with cgo in cmd/go

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-06-08 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-94

Description

The go command may execute arbitrary code at build time when using cgo. This may occur when running "go get" on a malicious module, or when running any other command which builds untrusted code. This is can by triggered by linker flags, specified via a "#cgo LDFLAGS" directive. The arguments for a number of flags which are non-optional are incorrectly considered optional, allowing disallowed flags to be smuggled through the LDFLAGS sanitization. This affects usage of both the gc and gccgo compilers.

Affected products

Fedoraproject Fedora: 38
Go: before 1.19.10; from 1.20.0 before 1.20.5 — fixed in 1.19.10, 1.20.5

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Go 1.19.10, 1.20.5. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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