Rack is a modular Ruby web server interface. In versions prior to 2.2.19, 3.1.17, and 3.2.2, ``Rack::Multipart::Parserstores non-file form fields (parts without afilename) entirely in memory as Ruby Stringobjects. A single large text field in a multipart/form-data request (hundreds of megabytes or more) can consume equivalent process memory, potentially leading to out-of-memory (OOM) conditions and denial of service (DoS). Attackers can send large non-file fields to trigger excessive memory usage. Impact scales with request size and concurrency, potentially leading to worker crashes or severe garbage-collection overhead. All Rack applications processing multipart form submissions are affected. Versions 2.2.19, 3.1.17, and 3.2.2 enforce a reasonable size cap for non-file fields (e.g., 2 MiB). Workarounds include restricting maximum request body size at the web-server or proxy layer (e.g., Nginxclient_max_body_size`) and validating and rejecting unusually large form fields at the application level.
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
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.