CVE-2023-23919 is a cryptographic vulnerability affecting multiple versions of Node.js prior to 19.2.0, 18.14.1, 16.19.1, and 14.21.3. The issue stems from improper handling of the OpenSSL error stack within Node.js's cryptographic operations. Specifically, after certain cryptographic operations that may set errors in the OpenSSL error stack, Node.js fails to clear this stack. As a result, subsequent cryptographic operations executed on the same thread may encounter residual error states, leading to false positive error reports. This behavior can disrupt normal cryptographic processing, potentially causing denial of service (DoS) conditions by interrupting or halting cryptographic functions that are critical for secure communications and data protection. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity directly but affects availability by causing service interruptions. Exploitation requires no privileges or user interaction, and the attack vector is network-based, as Node.js is commonly used in server-side applications handling network requests. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.5 (high severity), reflecting the ease of exploitation and the impact on availability. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-310, indicating generic cryptographic issues related to improper error handling. This flaw affects a broad range of Node.js versions, including many long-term support (LTS) releases, making it relevant for a wide array of applications and services relying on Node.js for cryptographic functions.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-23919 can be significant, especially for those relying heavily on Node.js for backend services, APIs, and cryptographic operations such as TLS/SSL termination, data encryption, and secure communications. The vulnerability can lead to denial of service conditions, causing service outages or degraded performance in critical applications. This may disrupt business operations, customer-facing services, and internal systems that depend on Node.js. Industries such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and e-commerce, which often use Node.js for scalable web services and require high availability, are particularly at risk. Additionally, organizations subject to strict regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR) may face compliance challenges if service disruptions affect data availability or incident response capabilities. While the vulnerability does not allow data breaches or integrity compromises directly, the resulting downtime or service interruptions can have cascading effects on operational continuity and customer trust.

To mitigate CVE-2023-23919, European organizations should prioritize upgrading Node.js to the fixed versions: 19.2.0 or later, 18.14.1 or later, 16.19.1 or later, and 14.21.3 or later. Given the broad version impact, organizations should audit their environments to identify all Node.js instances, including development, staging, and production systems. Where immediate upgrades are not feasible, organizations can implement temporary workarounds such as isolating cryptographic operations to separate threads or processes to minimize error stack contamination. Monitoring and alerting should be enhanced to detect unusual cryptographic errors or service disruptions that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should review their incident response plans to include scenarios involving cryptographic service outages. Security teams should also verify that their dependency management and CI/CD pipelines incorporate vulnerability scanning for Node.js versions and enforce upgrade policies. Finally, engaging with Node.js community advisories and subscribing to security mailing lists will help maintain awareness of any emerging exploits or patches related to this vulnerability.