CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-37475NVD status: Modified

avro: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

CVE-2023-37475 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in avro from Hamba, 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 avro versions: < 2.13.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.95% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 62% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update avro to 2.13.0 or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Hambaavro< 2.13.0Not stated
Avro Projectavrobefore 2.13.02.13.0

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 systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.5HighCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.17.5HighNVD

Official description

Hamba avro is a go lang encoder/decoder implementation of the avro codec specification. In affected versions a well-crafted string passed to avro's `github.com/hamba/avro/v2.Unmarshal()` can throw a `fatal error: runtime: out of memory` which is unrecoverable and can cause denial of service of the consumer of avro. The root cause of the issue is that avro uses part of the input to `Unmarshal()` to determine the size when creating a new slice and hence an attacker may consume arbitrary amounts of memory which in turn may cause the application to crash. This issue has been addressed in commit `b4a402f4` which has been included in release version `2.13.0`. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Ensure that protocols have specific limits of scale placed on them.
  • Ensure that all failures in resource allocation place the system into a safe posture.

More Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerabilities (CWE-400)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerabilities

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