CVE-2022-29546: Neko htmlunit OutOfMemory Exception By Specifically Crafted Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6jmm-mp6w-4rrg
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-29546 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) outofmemory exception by specifically crafted vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Neko htmlunit libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves outofmemory exception by specifically crafted processing instruction in nekohtml parser. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.61.0.

CVE-2022-29546 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-29546
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6jmm-mp6w-4rrg
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Neko htmlunit
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2022-29546

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Neko htmlunit dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

net.sourceforge.htmlunit:neko-htmlunit fixed: 2.61.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>net.sourceforge.htmlunit</groupId>
    <artifactId>neko-htmlunit</artifactId>
    <version>2.61.0</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=net.sourceforge.htmlunit

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-29546, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=net.sourceforge.htmlunit

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Neko htmlunit in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.61.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=net.sourceforge.htmlunit command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Neko htmlunit, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact NekoHtml Parser suffers from a denial of service vulnerability on versions 2.60.0 and below. A specifically crafted input regarding the parsing of processing instructions leads to heap memory consumption. Please update to version 2.61.0. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko](https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko) * Email us at [rbri at rbri.de]

CVE-2022-29546 Affected Neko htmlunit Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.61.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
net.sourceforge.htmlunit:neko-htmlunit
maven/net.sourceforge.htmlunit/neko-htmlunit
Maven
< 2.61.0
2.61.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko/security/advisories/GHSA-6jmm-mp6w-4rrg
NVD — CVE-2022-29546 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29546
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko/commit/9d2aecd69223469e40c12ca3edddda09009110cc
Neko htmlunit Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-29546?
CVE-2022-29546 is a security vulnerability in Neko htmlunit involving OutOfMemory Exception by specifically crafted processing instruction in NekoHtml Parser under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Neko htmlunit versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.61.0 across affected packages: net.sourceforge.htmlunit:neko-htmlunit.
What version fixes CVE-2022-29546?
Upgrading to 2.61.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is neko-htmlunit affected?
Yes, net.sourceforge.htmlunit:neko-htmlunit is affected in releases prior to 2.61.0. Upgrade your dependency to 2.61.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-29546?
CVE-2022-29546 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-29546?
CVE-2022-29546 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-29546?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=net.sourceforge.htmlunit'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-6jmm-mp6w-4rrg",
  "modified" : "2022-06-02T17:30:10Z",
  "published" : "2022-04-26T21:14:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-29546" ],
  "summary" : "OutOfMemory Exception by specifically crafted processing instruction in NekoHtml Parser",
  "details" : "### Impact\nNekoHtml Parser suffers from a denial of service vulnerability on versions 2.60.0 and below. A specifically crafted input regarding the parsing of processing instructions leads to heap memory consumption. Please update to version 2.61.0.\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko](https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko)\n* Email us at [rbri at rbri.de]\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "net.sourceforge.htmlunit:neko-htmlunit"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.61.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko/security/advisories/GHSA-6jmm-mp6w-4rrg"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29546"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko/commit/9d2aecd69223469e40c12ca3edddda09009110cc"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit-neko"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-04-26T21:14:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-04-25T03:15:00Z"
  }
}