ghsa-xq3w-v528-46rv
Vulnerability from github
Published
2024-11-12 19:53
Modified
2025-02-18 15:57
Summary
Denial of Service attack on windows app using netty
Details

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.

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.

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

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 :

Server mode :

somaxconn :

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.
Show details on source website


{
   affected: [
      {
         database_specific: {
            last_known_affected_version_range: "<= 4.1.114.Final",
         },
         package: {
            ecosystem: "Maven",
            name: "io.netty:netty-common",
         },
         ranges: [
            {
               events: [
                  {
                     introduced: "0",
                  },
                  {
                     fixed: "4.1.115.Final",
                  },
               ],
               type: "ECOSYSTEM",
            },
         ],
      },
   ],
   aliases: [
      "CVE-2024-47535",
   ],
   database_specific: {
      cwe_ids: [
         "CWE-400",
      ],
      github_reviewed: true,
      github_reviewed_at: "2024-11-12T19:53:17Z",
      nvd_published_at: "2024-11-12T16:15:22Z",
      severity: "MODERATE",
   },
   details: "### Summary\n\nAn unsafe reading of environment file could potentially cause a denial of service in Netty.\nWhen 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.\n\n\n### Details\n\nWhen the library netty is loaded in a java windows application, the library tries to identify the system environnement in which it is executed.\n\nAt this stage, Netty tries to load both `/etc/os-release` and `/usr/lib/os-release` even though it is in a Windows environment. \n\n<img width=\"364\" alt=\"1\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9466b181-9394-45a3-b0e3-1dcf105def59\">\n\nIf netty finds this files, it reads them and loads them into memory.\n\nBy default :\n\n- The JVM maximum memory size is set to 1 GB,\n- A non-privileged user can create a directory at `C:\\` and create files within it.\n\n<img width=\"340\" alt=\"2\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/43b359a2-5871-4592-ae2b-ffc40ac76831\">\n\n<img width=\"523\" alt=\"3\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ad5c6eed-451c-4513-92d5-ba0eee7715c1\">\n\nthe source code identified :\nhttps://github.com/netty/netty/blob/4.1/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/internal/PlatformDependent.java\n\nDespite 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`.\n\n### PoC\n\nCreate 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.\n\nTo 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/)\n\n```\ncd C:\\etc\nfsutil file createnew os-release 3000000000\n```\n\n<img width=\"519\" alt=\"4\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/39df22a3-462b-4fd0-af9a-aa30077ec08f\">\n\n<img width=\"517\" alt=\"5\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/129dbd50-fc36-4da5-8eb1-582123fb528f\">\n\nThe source code used is the Netty website code example : [Echo ‐ the very basic client and server](https://netty.io/4.1/xref/io/netty/example/echo/package-summary.html).\n\nThe vulnerability was tested on the 4.1.112.Final version.\n\nThe 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\n\n### Impact\n\nBy 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.\n\nThis behaviour occurs 100% of the time in both Server mode and Client mode if the large file exists.\n\nClient mode :\n\n<img width=\"449\" alt=\"6\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f8fe1ed0-1a42-4490-b9ed-dbc9af7804be\">\n\nServer mode :\n\n<img width=\"464\" alt=\"7\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b34b42bd-4fbd-4170-b93a-d29ba87b88eb\">\n\nsomaxconn :\n\n<img width=\"532\" alt=\"8\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0656b3bb-32c6-4ae2-bff7-d93babba08a3\">\n\n### Severity\n\n- Attack vector : \"Local\" because the attacker needs to be on the system where the Netty application is running.\n- Attack complexity : \"Low\" because the attacker only need to create a massive file (regardless of its contents).\n- Privileges required : \"Low\" because the attacker requires a user account to exploit the vulnerability.\n- 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.\n- Scope : \"Unchanged\" because only Netty is affected by the vulnerability.\n- Confidentiality : \"None\" because no data is exposed through exploiting the vulnerability.\n- Integrity : \"None\" because the explotation of the vulnerability does not allow editing, deleting or adding data elsewhere.\n- Availability : \"High\" because the exploitation of this vulnerability crashes the entire java application.",
   id: "GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv",
   modified: "2025-02-18T15:57:45Z",
   published: "2024-11-12T19:53:17Z",
   references: [
      {
         type: "WEB",
         url: "https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv",
      },
      {
         type: "ADVISORY",
         url: "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-47535",
      },
      {
         type: "WEB",
         url: "https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/fbf7a704a82e7449b48bd0bbb679f5661c6d61a3",
      },
      {
         type: "PACKAGE",
         url: "https://github.com/netty/netty",
      },
   ],
   schema_version: "1.4.0",
   severity: [
      {
         score: "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
         type: "CVSS_V3",
      },
      {
         score: "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P",
         type: "CVSS_V4",
      },
   ],
   summary: "Denial of Service attack on windows app using netty",
}


Log in or create an account to share your comment.

Security Advisory comment format.

This schema specifies the format of a comment related to a security advisory.

UUIDv4 of the comment
UUIDv4 of the Vulnerability-Lookup instance
When the comment was created originally
When the comment was last updated
Title of the comment
Description of the comment
The identifier of the vulnerability (CVE ID, GHSA-ID, PYSEC ID, etc.).



Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.


Loading…

Loading…

Loading…

Sightings

Author Source Type Date

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
  • Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.