CVE-2009-4611: Jetty Improper Input Validation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6jxp-7g74-2rc3
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CVSS 7.3
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2009-4611 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.3) improper input validation vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Jetty libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper input validation in mort bay jetty. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.1.23, 7.0.2.

CVE-2009-4611 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2009-4611
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6jxp-7g74-2rc3
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.3
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Jetty
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.3

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:L/I:L/A:L).

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 Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2009-4611

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

org.mortbay.jetty:jetty fixed: 6.1.23 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.mortbay.jetty</groupId>
    <artifactId>jetty</artifactId>
    <version>6.1.23</version>
</dependency>
org.mortbay.jetty:jetty fixed: 7.0.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.mortbay.jetty</groupId>
    <artifactId>jetty</artifactId>
    <version>7.0.2</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=org.mortbay.jetty

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2009-4611, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.mortbay.jetty

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jetty in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.1.23), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.mortbay.jetty 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-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Jetty, 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

Mort Bay Jetty 6.x through 6.1.22 and 7.0.0 writes backtrace data without sanitizing non-printable characters, which might allow remote attackers to modify a window's title, or possibly execute arbitrary commands or overwrite files, via an HTTP request containing an escape sequence for a terminal emulator, related to (1) a string value in the Age parameter to the default URI for the Cookie Dump Servlet in test-jetty-webapp/src/main/java/com/acme/CookieDump.java under cookie/, (2) an alphabetic value in the A parameter to jsp/expr.jsp, or (3) an alphabetic value in the Content-Length HTTP header to an arbitrary application.

CVE-2009-4611 Affected Jetty Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.1.237.0.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.mortbay.jetty:jetty
maven/org.mortbay.jetty/jetty
Maven
≥ 6.0.0
< 6.1.23
6.1.23
org.mortbay.jetty:jetty
maven/org.mortbay.jetty/jetty
Maven
≥ 7.0.0
< 7.0.2
7.0.2

References

NVD — CVE-2009-4611 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4611
fossies.org/linux/jetty-distrib... WEB
https://fossies.org/linux/jetty-distribution/VERSION.txt
Jetty Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/eclipse/jetty.project
www.eclipse.org/jetty/about.php WEB
https://www.eclipse.org/jetty/about.php
www.ush.it/team/ush/hack-jetty... WEB
http://www.ush.it/team/ush/hack-jetty6x7x/jetty-adv.txt
www.ush.it/team/ush/hack_httpd... WEB
http://www.ush.it/team/ush/hack_httpd_escape/adv.txt

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2009-4611?
CVE-2009-4611 is a security vulnerability in Jetty involving Improper input validation in Mort Bay Jetty under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Jetty versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.1.23, 7.0.2 across affected packages: org.mortbay.jetty:jetty.
What version fixes CVE-2009-4611?
Upgrading to 6.1.23, 7.0.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is jetty affected?
Yes, org.mortbay.jetty:jetty is affected in releases prior to 6.1.23, 7.0.2. Upgrade your dependency to 6.1.23, 7.0.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2009-4611?
CVE-2009-4611 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2009-4611?
CVE-2009-4611 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2009-4611?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.mortbay.jetty'. 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-6jxp-7g74-2rc3",
  "modified" : "2022-06-10T22:42:57Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-02T03:56:13Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2009-4611" ],
  "summary" : "Improper input validation in Mort Bay Jetty",
  "details" : "Mort Bay Jetty 6.x through 6.1.22 and 7.0.0 writes backtrace data without sanitizing non-printable characters, which might allow remote attackers to modify a window's title, or possibly execute arbitrary commands or overwrite files, via an HTTP request containing an escape sequence for a terminal emulator, related to (1) a string value in the Age parameter to the default URI for the Cookie Dump Servlet in test-jetty-webapp/src/main/java/com/acme/CookieDump.java under cookie/, (2) an alphabetic value in the A parameter to jsp/expr.jsp, or (3) an alphabetic value in the Content-Length HTTP header to an arbitrary application.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.mortbay.jetty:jetty"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "6.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.1.23"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.mortbay.jetty:jetty"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.0.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4611"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://fossies.org/linux/jetty-distribution/VERSION.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/eclipse/jetty.project"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.eclipse.org/jetty/about.php"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ush.it/team/ush/hack-jetty6x7x/jetty-adv.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ush.it/team/ush/hack_httpd_escape/adv.txt"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-10T22:42:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2010-01-13T20:30:00Z"
  }
}