Executive brief
SurrealDB is a multi-model cloud database. A vulnerability in its remote communication protocol allows an unauthenticated attacker to crash the database server with a single specially crafted message. This results in a complete denial of service, potentially disrupting all applications and services relying on the database.
Technical details
A vulnerability exists in the SurrealDB RPC handler where a WebSocket message calling the `use` method with a database (`db`) parameter, but without a previously established namespace (`ns`), triggers an unhandled panic. Specifically, the code calls `.expect()` on a None value in `surrealdb-core/src/rpc/protocol.rs`. Because the project is compiled with `panic = 'abort'`, this panic immediately terminates the entire server process. The attack requires no authentication or special capabilities, as the `use` method is accessible to guest callers by default. The issue is resolved in version 3.1.0 by returning a proper error response instead of panicking.
Affected products
- SurrealDB surrealdb < 3.1.0
Timeline
- 2026-05-27: disclosed: Initial disclosure by researcher
- 2026-07-01: advisory: GitHub Advisory published
- 2026-07-01: patched: Version 3.1.0 released with fix