Wings is the server control plane for Pterodactyl, a free, open-source game server management panel. Prior to version 1.12.0, websockets within wings lack proper rate limiting and throttling. As a result a malicious user can open a large number of connections and then request data through these sockets, causing an excessive volume of data over the network and overloading the host system memory and cpu. Additionally, there is not a limit applied to the total size of messages being sent or received, allowing a malicious user to open thousands of websocket connections and then send massive volumes of information over the socket, overloading the host network, and causing increased CPU and memory load within Wings. Version 1.12.0 patches the issue.
Weakness
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
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