Sunshine: Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness
CVE-2024-51738 is a high-severity authentication bypass by primary weakness vulnerability in Sunshine from LizardByte, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Sunshine versions: < 2025.118.151840. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Sunshine you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| LizardByte | Sunshine | < 2025.118.151840 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 7.7 | High | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.1 | High | NVD |
Official description
Sunshine is a self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight. In 0.23.1 and earlier, Sunshine's pairing protocol implementation does not validate request order and is thereby vulnerable to a MITM attack, potentially allowing an unauthenticated attacker to pair a client by hijacking a legitimate pairing attempt. This bug may also be used by a remote attacker to crash Sunshine. This vulnerability is fixed in 2025.118.151840.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness
The authentication algorithm is sound, but the implemented mechanism can be bypassed as the result of a separate weakness that is primary to the authentication error.
More Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness vulnerabilities (CWE-305)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other vulnerabilities in Sunshine
- 7.6 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
Recent Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness vulnerabilities
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 9.0 Critical severity
- 7.1 High severity
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