ckeditor4: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
CVE-2022-24729 is a high-severity inefficient regular expression complexity vulnerability in ckeditor4 from Ckeditor, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected ckeditor4 versions: < 4.18.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 2.49% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 85% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Ckeditor to 4.18.0 or a later version.
- Update Drupal to 9.2.15 or 9.3.8, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Application Express to 22.1.1 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on ckeditor.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ckeditor | ckeditor4 | < 4.18.0 | Not stated |
| Ckeditor | Ckeditor | 4.0 up to, but not including, 4.18.0 | 4.18.0 |
| Drupal | Drupal | 8.0.0 up to, but not including, 9.2.15; 9.3.0 up to, but not including, 9.3.8 | 9.2.15, 9.3.8 |
| Oracle | Application Express | before 22.1.1 | 22.1.1 |
| Oracle | Commerce Merchandising | 11.3.2 | Not stated |
| Oracle | Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure | 8.0.7.0.0 through 8.1.0.0.0; 8.1.1.0; 8.1.2.0; 8.1.2.1 | Not stated |
| Oracle | Financial Services Behavior Detection Platform | 8.1.1.0 through 8.1.2.1; 8.0.7.0; 8.0.8.0 | Not stated |
| Oracle | Financial Services Trade-based Anti Money Laundering | 8.0.7; 8.0.8 | Not stated |
| Oracle | Peoplesoft Enterprise Peopletools | 8.58; 8.59 | Not stated |
| Fedora Project | Fedora | 36; 37 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 6.5 | Medium | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | NVD |
| CVSS 2.0 | 5.0 | Medium | NVD |
Official description
CKEditor4 is an open source what-you-see-is-what-you-get HTML editor. CKEditor4 prior to version 4.18.0 contains a vulnerability in the `dialog` plugin. The vulnerability allows abuse of a dialog input validator regular expression, which can cause a significant performance drop resulting in a browser tab freeze. A patch is available in version 4.18.0. There are currently no known workarounds.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
The product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use regular expressions that do not support backtracking, e.g. by removing nested quantifiers.
- Set backtracking limits in the configuration of the regular expression implementation, such as PHP's pcre.backtrack_limit. Also consider limits on execution time for the process.
- Do not use regular expressions with untrusted input. If regular expressions must be used, avoid using backtracking in the expression.
More Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerabilities (CWE-1333)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
- ckeditor.com/cke4/release/CKEditor-4.18.0Release Notes
- github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor4/security/advisories/GHSA-f6rf-9m92-x2hhThird Party Advisory
Patches and release notes
- drupal.org/sa-core-2022-005Third Party Advisory
- oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlThird Party Advisory
Other references
Recent Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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