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OutOfMemoryError for large multipart without filename read via request.getParameter()

Moderate
jmcc0nn3ll published GHSA-qw69-rqj8-6qw8 Apr 18, 2023

Package

maven jetty-server (Maven)

Affected versions

<=9.4.50, <=10.0.13, <=11.0.13

Patched versions

9.4.51, 10.0.14, 11.0.14

Description

Impact

Servlets with multipart support (e.g. annotated with @MultipartConfig) that call HttpServletRequest.getParameter() or HttpServletRequest.getParts() may cause OutOfMemoryError when the client sends a multipart request with a part that has a name but no filename and a very large content.

This happens even with the default settings of fileSizeThreshold=0 which should stream the whole part content to disk.

An attacker client may send a large multipart request and cause the server to throw OutOfMemoryError.
However, the server may be able to recover after the OutOfMemoryError and continue its service -- although it may take some time.

A very large number of parts may cause the same problem.

Patches

Patched in Jetty versions

  • 9.4.51.v20230217 - via PR #9345
  • 10.0.14 - via PR #9344
  • 11.0.14 - via PR #9344

Workarounds

Multipart parameter maxRequestSize must be set to a non-negative value, so the whole multipart content is limited (although still read into memory).
Limiting multipart parameter maxFileSize won't be enough because an attacker can send a large number of parts that summed up will cause memory issues.

References

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

CVE ID

CVE-2023-26048

Weaknesses

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource, thereby enabling an actor to influence the amount of resources consumed, eventually leading to the exhaustion of available resources. Learn more on MITRE.

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated, in violation of the intended security policy for that actor. Learn more on MITRE.

Credits