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Denial of Service attack on windows app using netty

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Nov 12, 2024 in netty/netty • Updated Nov 12, 2024

Package

maven io.netty:netty-common (Maven)

Affected versions

<= 4.1.114

Patched versions

4.1.115

Description

Summary

An unsafe reading of environment file could potentially cause a denial of service in Netty.
When loaded on an Windows application, Netty attemps to load a file that does not exist. If an attacker creates such a large file, the Netty application crash.

Details

When the library netty is loaded in a java windows application, the library tries to identify the system environnement in which it is executed.

At this stage, Netty tries to load both /etc/os-release and /usr/lib/os-release even though it is in a Windows environment.

1

If netty finds this files, it reads them and loads them into memory.

By default :

  • The JVM maximum memory size is set to 1 GB,
  • A non-privileged user can create a directory at C:\ and create files within it.

2

3

the source code identified :
https://github.com/netty/netty/blob/4.1/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/internal/PlatformDependent.java

Despite the implementation of the function normalizeOs() the source code not verify the OS before reading C:\etc\os-release and C:\usr\lib\os-release.

PoC

Create a file larger than 1 GB of data in C:\etc\os-release or C:\usr\lib\os-release on a Windows environnement and start your Netty application.

To observe what the application does with the file, the security analyst used "Process Monitor" from the "Windows SysInternals" suite. (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/)

cd C:\etc
fsutil file createnew os-release 3000000000

4

5

The source code used is the Netty website code example : Echo ‐ the very basic client and server.

The vulnerability was tested on the 4.1.112.Final version.

The security analyst tried the same technique for C:\proc\sys\net\core\somaxconn with a lot of values to impact Netty but the only things that works is the "larger than 1 GB file" technique. https://github.com/netty/netty/blob/c0fdb8e9f8f256990e902fcfffbbe10754d0f3dd/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/NetUtil.java#L186

Impact

By loading the "file larger than 1 GB" into the memory, the Netty library exceeds the JVM memory limit and causes a crash in the java Windows application.

This behaviour occurs 100% of the time in both Server mode and Client mode if the large file exists.

Client mode :

6

Server mode :

7

somaxconn :

8

Severity

  • Attack vector : "Local" because the attacker needs to be on the system where the Netty application is running.
  • Attack complexity : "Low" because the attacker only need to create a massive file (regardless of its contents).
  • Privileges required : "Low" because the attacker requires a user account to exploit the vulnerability.
  • User intercation : "None" because the administrator don't need to accidentally click anywhere to trigger the vulnerability. Furthermore, the exploitation works with defaults windows/AD settings.
  • Scope : "Unchanged" because only Netty is affected by the vulnerability.
  • Confidentiality : "None" because no data is exposed through exploiting the vulnerability.
  • Integrity : "None" because the explotation of the vulnerability does not allow editing, deleting or adding data elsewhere.
  • Availability : "High" because the exploitation of this vulnerability crashes the entire java application.

References

@normanmaurer normanmaurer published to netty/netty Nov 12, 2024
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Nov 12, 2024
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Nov 12, 2024
Reviewed Nov 12, 2024
Last updated Nov 12, 2024

Severity

High

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 v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Attack Requirements None
Privileges Required Low
User interaction None
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability High
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality High
Integrity High
Availability Low

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector: This metric reflects the context by which vulnerability exploitation is possible. This metric value (and consequently the resulting severity) will be larger the more remote (logically, and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerable system. The assumption is that the number of potential attackers for a vulnerability that could be exploited from across a network is larger than the number of potential attackers that could exploit a vulnerability requiring physical access to a device, and therefore warrants a greater severity.
Attack Complexity: This metric captures measurable actions that must be taken by the attacker to actively evade or circumvent existing built-in security-enhancing conditions in order to obtain a working exploit. These are conditions whose primary purpose is to increase security and/or increase exploit engineering complexity. A vulnerability exploitable without a target-specific variable has a lower complexity than a vulnerability that would require non-trivial customization. This metric is meant to capture security mechanisms utilized by the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: This metric captures the prerequisite deployment and execution conditions or variables of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These differ from security-enhancing techniques/technologies (ref Attack Complexity) as the primary purpose of these conditions is not to explicitly mitigate attacks, but rather, emerge naturally as a consequence of the deployment and execution of the vulnerable system.
Privileges Required: This metric describes the level of privileges an attacker must possess prior to successfully exploiting the vulnerability. The method by which the attacker obtains privileged credentials prior to the attack (e.g., free trial accounts), is outside the scope of this metric. Generally, self-service provisioned accounts do not constitute a privilege requirement if the attacker can grant themselves privileges as part of the attack.
User interaction: This metric captures the requirement for a human user, other than the attacker, to participate in the successful compromise of the vulnerable system. This metric determines whether the vulnerability can be exploited solely at the will of the attacker, or whether a separate user (or user-initiated process) must participate in some manner.
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the VULNERABLE SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L/E:P

EPSS score

0.043%
(10th percentile)

Weaknesses

CVE ID

CVE-2024-47535

GHSA ID

GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv

Source code

Credits

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