squid: Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value
CVE-2024-25617 is a high-severity collapse of data into unsafe value vulnerability in squid from Squid-cache, 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. The record lists version 6.5 as the first without the flaw, so updating squid to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 88.9% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is in the top 0.22% of all scored CVEs.
Exploitation in the next 30 days is more likely than not, according to EPSS.
What to do
- Update squid to 6.5 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squid-cache | squid | < 6.5; before 6.5 | 6.5 |
| NetApp | Bluexp | Not specified in the record | 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 | 5.3 | Medium | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | NVD |
Official description
Squid is an open source caching proxy for the Web supporting HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more. Due to a Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value bug ,Squid may be vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack against HTTP header parsing. This problem allows a remote client or a remote server to perform Denial of Service when sending oversized headers in HTTP messages. In versions of Squid prior to 6.5 this can be achieved if the request_header_max_size or reply_header_max_size settings are unchanged from the default. In Squid version 6.5 and later, the default setting of these parameters is safe. Squid will emit a critical warning in cache.log if the administrator is setting these parameters to unsafe values. Squid will not at this time prevent these settings from being changed to unsafe values. Users are advised to upgrade to version 6.5. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. This issue is also tracked as SQUID-2024:2
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value
The product filters data in a way that causes it to be reduced or collapsed into an unsafe value that violates an expected security property.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Avoid making decisions based on names of resources (e.g. files) if those resources can have alternate names.
- Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
- Canonicalize the name to match that of the file system's representation of the name. This can sometimes be achieved with an available API (e.g. in Win32 the GetFullPathName function).
More Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value vulnerabilities (CWE-182)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
- github.com/squid-cache/squid/commit/72a3bbd5e431597c3fdb56d752bc56b010ba3817
- github.com/squid-cache/squid/security/advisories/GHSA-h5x6-w8mv-xfprMitigation, Third Party Advisory
- security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240322-0006/Third Party Advisory
Other vulnerabilities in squid
- 7.7 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
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