CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2024-37890NVD status: Deferred

ws: NULL Pointer Dereference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2024-37890 is a high-severity NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in ws from Websockets, 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 versions 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10 as the first without the flaw, so updating ws to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.36% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 72% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update ws to 5.2.4 or 6.2.3 or 7.5.10 or 8.17.1, whichever matches your release line, 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
Websocketsws>= 2.1.0, < 5.2.4; >= 6.0.0, < 6.2.3; >= 7.0.0, < 7.5.10; >= 8.0.0, < 8.17.1; 2.1.0; before 5.2.4; 6.0.0; before 6.2.3; and 4 more ranges5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1

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 CNA (github.com).

Official description

ws is an open source WebSocket client and server for Node.js. A request with a number of headers exceeding theserver.maxHeadersCount threshold could be used to crash a ws server. The vulnerability was fixed in [email protected] (e55e510) and backported to [email protected] (22c2876), [email protected] (eeb76d3), and [email protected] (4abd8f6). In vulnerable versions of ws, the issue can be mitigated in the following ways: 1. Reduce the maximum allowed length of the request headers using the --max-http-header-size=size and/or the maxHeaderSize options so that no more headers than the server.maxHeadersCount limit can be sent. 2. Set server.maxHeadersCount to 0 so that no limit is applied.

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

The underlying weakness: NULL Pointer Dereference

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any pointers that could have been modified or provided from a function that can return NULL, check the pointer for NULL before use. When working with a multithreaded or otherwise asynchronous environment, ensure that proper locking APIs are used to lock before the check, and unlock when it has finished.
  • Select a programming language that is not susceptible to these issues.
  • Check the results of all functions that return a value and verify that the value is non-null before acting upon it.

More NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities (CWE-476)

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

Other vulnerabilities in ws

All ws vulnerabilities

Recent NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities

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