There exists a security vulnerability in Jettys ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote() which can be exploited by unauthorized users to cause remote denial-of-service (DoS) attack. By repeatedly sending crafted requests, attackers can trigger OutofMemory errors and exhaust the servers memory.
Weakness
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jetty | Eclipse | 9.3.12 (including) | 9.4.56 (excluding) |
| Jetty | Eclipse | 10.0.0 (including) | 10.0.24 (excluding) |
| Jetty | Eclipse | 11.0.0 (including) | 11.0.24 (excluding) |
| Jetty | Eclipse | 12.0.0 (including) | 12.0.9 (excluding) |
| HawtIO 4.0.0 for Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 | RedHat | org.eclipse.jetty/jetty-server | * |
| Streams for Apache Kafka 2.8.0 | RedHat | org.eclipse.jetty/jetty-server | * |
| Streams for Apache Kafka 2.9.0 | RedHat | org.eclipse.jetty/jetty-server | * |
| Jetty | Ubuntu | trusty/esm | * |
Potential Mitigations
Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:
The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.
The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.
Related Attack Patterns
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/147.html
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/227.html
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/492.html