CVE-2022-31006 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting hyperledger indy-node, the server component of Hyperledger Indy, a distributed ledger platform designed specifically for decentralized identity management. The vulnerability exists in versions up to and including 1.12.6. An attacker can exploit this flaw by opening and maintaining a large number of client connections to the ledger nodes, effectively exhausting the maximum allowed client connections. This results in a denial of service (DoS) condition where legitimate users are unable to access or use the ledger, although the ledger's data integrity and content remain unaffected. The attack leverages a trade-off inherent in the system's design between resilience and availability: implementing strict protections against abusive client connections risks blocking legitimate users, while lax protections expose the network to resource exhaustion attacks. The vulnerability is not due to a bug in the indy-node code itself but rather arises from deployment configurations, specifically firewall and network access rules. The recommended mitigation involves tuning firewall rules and network policies to balance accessibility and protection, increasing the complexity and cost for attackers to mount such DoS attacks. This guidance has been updated for network operators to better defend against abusive client connections. No patches are provided in the codebase, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild to date.

For European organizations utilizing Hyperledger Indy for decentralized identity solutions, this vulnerability poses a risk of service disruption. While the ledger's data integrity and confidentiality remain intact, the availability of the ledger can be severely impacted by an attacker saturating client connections. This can halt identity verification processes, credential issuance, and other critical decentralized identity functions, potentially affecting sectors relying on trusted digital identities such as finance, healthcare, government services, and supply chain management. The inability to access the ledger could delay or block essential transactions and identity validations, leading to operational downtime and loss of trust in digital identity infrastructures. Given that the vulnerability requires no code exploitation but rather network-level abuse, organizations with insufficiently hardened network configurations are particularly vulnerable. However, since the ledger resumes normal operation after the attack ceases, the impact is transient but can be disruptive during critical periods.

European organizations should implement precise and dynamic firewall rules tailored to their expected user base to limit the number of simultaneous client connections from any single source or subnet. Rate limiting and connection throttling at the network perimeter can help prevent resource exhaustion. Deploying network intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) configured to detect abnormal connection patterns targeting indy-node services is advisable. Organizations should also monitor connection metrics actively to identify potential abuse early. Using network segmentation to isolate indy-node servers and applying strict access control lists (ACLs) can reduce exposure. Additionally, deploying load balancers with connection management capabilities can help distribute client connections and mitigate saturation. Since the vulnerability is related to deployment configuration, regular security audits of firewall and network policies are essential. Operators should stay informed on updated guidance from Hyperledger Indy maintainers and consider implementing automated scripts or tools to enforce connection limits dynamically. Finally, organizations should prepare incident response plans specifically addressing denial of service scenarios targeting decentralized identity infrastructure.