CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-2894

Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Published: Oct 04, 2011 | Modified: Jul 17, 2022
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
6.8 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
7.5 IMPORTANT
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

Spring Framework 3.0.0 through 3.0.5, Spring Security 3.0.0 through 3.0.5 and 2.0.0 through 2.0.6, and possibly other versions deserialize objects from untrusted sources, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended security restrictions and execute untrusted code by (1) serializing a java.lang.Proxy instance and using InvocationHandler, or (2) accessing internal AOP interfaces, as demonstrated using deserialization of a DefaultListableBeanFactory instance to execute arbitrary commands via the java.lang.Runtime class.

Weakness

The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently verifying that the resulting data will be valid.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Spring_framework Vmware 3.0.0 (including) 3.0.5 (including)
Spring_security Vmware 2.0.0 (including) 2.0.6 (including)
Red Hat JBoss SOA Platform 5.1 RedHat *
Libspring-2.5-java Ubuntu lucid *
Libspring-2.5-java Ubuntu maverick *
Libspring-2.5-java Ubuntu natty *
Libspring-2.5-java Ubuntu oneiric *
Libspring-java Ubuntu artful *
Libspring-java Ubuntu oneiric *
Libspring-java Ubuntu precise *
Libspring-java Ubuntu quantal *
Libspring-java Ubuntu raring *
Libspring-java Ubuntu saucy *
Libspring-java Ubuntu trusty *
Libspring-java Ubuntu utopic *
Libspring-java Ubuntu vivid *
Libspring-java Ubuntu wily *
Libspring-java Ubuntu yakkety *
Libspring-java Ubuntu zesty *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu maverick *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu natty *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu oneiric *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu precise *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu quantal *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu raring *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu saucy *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu trusty *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu utopic *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu vivid *
Libspring-security-2.0-java Ubuntu wily *

Extended Description

It is often convenient to serialize objects for communication or to save them for later use. However, deserialized data or code can often be modified without using the provided accessor functions if it does not use cryptography to protect itself. Furthermore, any cryptography would still be client-side security – which is a dangerous security assumption. Data that is untrusted can not be trusted to be well-formed. When developers place no restrictions on “gadget chains,” or series of instances and method invocations that can self-execute during the deserialization process (i.e., before the object is returned to the caller), it is sometimes possible for attackers to leverage them to perform unauthorized actions, like generating a shell.

Potential Mitigations

  • Make fields transient to protect them from deserialization.
  • An attempt to serialize and then deserialize a class containing transient fields will result in NULLs where the transient data should be. This is an excellent way to prevent time, environment-based, or sensitive variables from being carried over and used improperly.

References