GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q: Esapi Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
CVSS 7.5
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Esapi libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves dos vulnerabilities persist in esapi file uploads despite remediation of cve-2023-24998. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.5.2.0.

GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Esapi
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 GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Esapi 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.owasp.esapi:esapi fixed: 2.5.2.0
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.owasp.esapi</groupId>
    <artifactId>esapi</artifactId>
    <version>2.5.2.0</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=org.owasp.esapi

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp.esapi

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Esapi in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.5.2.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp.esapi 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 General Security Weakness. In Esapi, 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 ESAPI 2.5.2.0 and later addressed the DoS vulnerability described in CVE-2023-24998, which Apache Commons FileUpload 1.5 attempted to remediate. But while writing up a new security bulletin regarding the impact on the affected ESAPI `HTTPUtilities.getFileUploads` methods (or more specifically those methods in the `DefaultHTTPUtilities` implementation class), I realized that a DoS vulnerability still persists in ESAPI and for that matter in Apache Commons FileUpload as well. ### Related to CVE-2023-24998 ### Patches ESAPI 2.5.2.0 or later. ### Workarounds - See the 'Solutions' section of Security Bulletin 11, in the References section. If you are not using ESAPI file uploads, see also the 'Workarounds' section. - Deploy an external WAF or other suitable DoS protection. - Add additional defenses to your code using HTTPUtilities.getFileUpload, such as requiring prior authentication, restricting how many / much content can be uploaded per user per day or per hour, etc. (It is the opinion of the ESAPI development team that such required controls should not be added to ESAPI because it is a general purpose security library and thus ESAPI ought not be enforcing generic policies like these on everyone, especially it it could break existing code bases.) ### References [Security Bulletin 11: How Does CVE-2023-24998 Impact ESAPI?](https://github.com/ESAPI/esapi-java-legacy/blob/develop/documentation/ESAPI-security-bulletin11.pdf) New ESAPI 2.5.2.0 or later Javadoc on HTTPUtilities.getFileUploads: https://javadoc.io/static/org.owasp.esapi/esapi/2.5.2.0/org/owasp/esapi/HTTPUtilities.html#getFileUploads-javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest-java.io.File-java.util.List- (Note: This link won't work until the 2.5.2.0 release is made official.) ### Final Word (Especially to GitHub Advance Security team / GitHub as a CNA) -- I do not really wish to file a CVE for this. I had originally considered it, but there is no real way to address the general DoS scenarios for file uploads without breaking ESAPI client code which we are not willing to do. The clients have to take some responsibility for this themselves. In the next ESAPI release, I am going to add a reference to the appropriate Javadoc to this GitHub Security Advisory, but that's the best we can do. If you wish to discuss this with me, please first contact me via email at kevin.w.wall@gmail.com.

GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q Affected Esapi Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.5.2.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.owasp.esapi:esapi
Maven
< 2.5.2.0
2.5.2.0

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q?
GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q is a security vulnerability in Esapi involving DoS vulnerabilities persist in ESAPI file uploads despite remediation of CVE-2023-24998 under General Security Weakness.
Which Esapi versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.5.2.0 across affected packages: org.owasp.esapi:esapi.
What version fixes GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q?
Upgrading to 2.5.2.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is esapi affected?
Yes, org.owasp.esapi:esapi is affected in releases prior to 2.5.2.0. Upgrade your dependency to 2.5.2.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q?
GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q 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 GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q?
GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp.esapi'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q",
  "modified" : "2023-10-27T21:55:44Z",
  "published" : "2023-10-27T21:55:44Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "DoS vulnerabilities persist in ESAPI file uploads despite remediation of CVE-2023-24998",
  "details" : "### Impact\nESAPI 2.5.2.0 and later addressed  the DoS vulnerability described in CVE-2023-24998, which Apache Commons FileUpload 1.5 attempted to remediate. But while writing up a new security bulletin regarding the impact on the affected ESAPI `HTTPUtilities.getFileUploads` methods (or more specifically those methods in the `DefaultHTTPUtilities` implementation class), I realized that a DoS vulnerability still persists in ESAPI and for that matter in Apache Commons FileUpload as well.\n\n### Related to\nCVE-2023-24998\n\n### Patches\nESAPI 2.5.2.0 or later.\n\n### Workarounds\n- See the 'Solutions' section of Security Bulletin 11, in the References section. If you are not using ESAPI file uploads, see also the 'Workarounds' section.\n- Deploy an external WAF or other suitable DoS protection.\n- Add additional defenses to your code using HTTPUtilities.getFileUpload, such as requiring prior authentication, restricting how many / much content can be uploaded per user per day or per hour, etc. (It is the opinion of the ESAPI development team that such required controls should not be added to ESAPI because it is a general purpose security library and thus ESAPI ought not be enforcing generic policies like these on everyone, especially it it could break existing code bases.)\n\n### References\n[Security Bulletin 11: How Does CVE-2023-24998 Impact ESAPI?](https://github.com/ESAPI/esapi-java-legacy/blob/develop/documentation/ESAPI-security-bulletin11.pdf)\nNew ESAPI 2.5.2.0  or later Javadoc on HTTPUtilities.getFileUploads: https://javadoc.io/static/org.owasp.esapi/esapi/2.5.2.0/org/owasp/esapi/HTTPUtilities.html#getFileUploads-javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest-java.io.File-java.util.List-\n(Note: This link won't work until the 2.5.2.0 release is made official.)\n\n### Final Word\n(Especially to GitHub Advance Security team / GitHub as a CNA) -- I do not really wish to file a CVE for this. I had originally considered it, but there is no real way to address the general DoS scenarios for file uploads without breaking ESAPI client code which we are not willing to do. The clients have to take some responsibility for this themselves. In the next ESAPI release, I am going to add a reference to the appropriate Javadoc to this GitHub Security Advisory, but that's the best we can do. If you wish to discuss this with me, please first contact me via email at kevin.w.wall@gmail.com. ",
  "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" : "org.owasp.esapi:esapi"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.5.2.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ESAPI/esapi-java-legacy/security/advisories/GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ESAPI/esapi-java-legacy"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-10-27T21:55:44Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}