CVE-2024-29902: Github.com/sigstore/cosign Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-88jx-383q-w4qc
CVSS 4.2
CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-29902 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.2) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Github.com/sigstore/cosign libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves cosign malicious attachments can cause system-wide denial of service. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.2.4.

CVE-2024-29902 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-29902
GHSA Identifier GHSA-88jx-383q-w4qc
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.2
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Github.com/sigstore/cosign
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.2

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2024-29902

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

github.com/sigstore/cosign fixed: Latest secure release
Upgrade github.com/sigstore/cosign to Latest secure release
github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 fixed: 2.2.4
Upgrade github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 to 2.2.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for github.com/sigstore/cosign

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2024-29902, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/sigstore/cosign:

inspect dependencies for github.com/sigstore/cosign

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/sigstore/cosign in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.2.4), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Github.com/sigstore/cosign, 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

### Summary A remote image with a malicious attachment can cause denial of service of the host machine running Cosign. This can impact other services on the machine that rely on having memory available such as a Redis database which can result in data loss. It can also impact the availability of other services on the machine that will not be available for the duration of the machine denial. ### Details The root cause of this issue is that Cosign reads the attachment from a remote image entirely into memory without checking the size of the attachment first. As such, a large attachment can make Cosign read a large attachment into memory; If the attachments size is larger than the machine has memory available, the machine will be denied of service. The Go runtime will make a `SIGKILL` after a few seconds of system-wide denial. The root cause is that Cosign reads the contents of the attachments entirely into memory on line 238 below: https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/9bc3ee309bf35d2f6e17f5d23f231a3d8bf580bc/pkg/oci/remote/remote.go#L228-L239 ...and prior to that, neither Cosign nor go-containerregistry checks the size of the attachment and enforces a max cap. In the case of a remote layer of `f *attached`, go-containerregistry will invoke this API: https://github.com/google/go-containerregistry/blob/a0658aa1d0cc7a7f1bcc4a3af9155335b6943f40/pkg/v1/remote/layer.go#L36-L40 ```golang func (rl *remoteLayer) Compressed() (io.ReadCloser, error) { // We don't want to log binary layers -- this can break terminals. ctx := redact.NewContext(rl.ctx, "omitting binary blobs from logs") return rl.fetcher.fetchBlob(ctx, verify.SizeUnknown, rl.digest) } ``` Notice that the second argument to `rl.fetcher.fetchBlob` is `verify.SizeUnknown` which results in not using the `io.LimitReader` in `verify.ReadCloser`: https://github.com/google/go-containerregistry/blob/a0658aa1d0cc7a7f1bcc4a3af9155335b6943f40/internal/verify/verify.go#L82-L100 ```golang func ReadCloser(r io.ReadCloser, size int64, h v1.Hash) (io.ReadCloser, error) { w, err := v1.Hasher(h.Algorithm) if err != nil { return nil, err } r2 := io.TeeReader(r, w) // pass all writes to the hasher. if size != SizeUnknown { r2 = io.LimitReader(r2, size) // if we know the size, limit to that size. } return &and.ReadCloser{ Reader: &verifyReader{ inner: r2, hasher: w, expected: h, wantSize: size, }, CloseFunc: r.Close, }, nil } ``` ### Impact This issue can allow a supply-chain escalation from a compromised registry to the Cosign user: If an attacher has compromised a registry or the account of an image vendor, they can include a malicious attachment and hurt the image consumer. ### Remediation Update to the latest version of Cosign, which limits the number of attachments. An environment variable can override this value.

CVE-2024-29902 Affected Github.com/sigstore/cosign Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.2.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/sigstore/cosign
Go
≤ 2.2.3
github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2
Go
< 2.2.4
2.2.4

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-29902?
CVE-2024-29902 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/sigstore/cosign involving Cosign malicious attachments can cause system-wide denial of service under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Github.com/sigstore/cosign versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.2.4 across affected packages: github.com/sigstore/cosign, github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2.
What version fixes CVE-2024-29902?
Upgrading to 2.2.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/sigstore/cosign affected?
Yes, github.com/sigstore/cosign is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
Is github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 affected?
Yes, github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 is affected in releases prior to 2.2.4. Upgrade your dependency to 2.2.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-29902?
CVE-2024-29902 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.2 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-29902?
CVE-2024-29902 is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2024-29902?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/sigstore/cosign'. 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-88jx-383q-w4qc",
  "modified" : "2024-04-11T17:05:01Z",
  "published" : "2024-04-11T17:05:01Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-29902" ],
  "summary" : "Cosign malicious attachments can cause system-wide denial of service",
  "details" : "### Summary\nA remote image with a malicious attachment can cause denial of service of the host machine running Cosign. This can impact other services on the machine that rely on having memory available such as a Redis database which can result in data loss. It can also impact the availability of other services on the machine that will not be available for the duration of the machine denial.\n\n### Details\nThe root cause of this issue is that Cosign reads the attachment from a remote image entirely into memory without checking the size of the attachment first. As such, a large attachment can make Cosign read a large attachment into memory; If the attachments size is larger than the machine has memory available, the machine will be denied of service. The Go runtime will make a `SIGKILL` after a few seconds of system-wide denial.\n\nThe root cause is that Cosign reads the contents of the attachments entirely into memory on line 238 below:\n\nhttps://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/9bc3ee309bf35d2f6e17f5d23f231a3d8bf580bc/pkg/oci/remote/remote.go#L228-L239\n\n...and prior to that, neither Cosign nor go-containerregistry checks the size of the attachment and enforces a max cap. In the case of a remote layer of `f *attached`, go-containerregistry will invoke this API:\n\nhttps://github.com/google/go-containerregistry/blob/a0658aa1d0cc7a7f1bcc4a3af9155335b6943f40/pkg/v1/remote/layer.go#L36-L40\n```golang\nfunc (rl *remoteLayer) Compressed() (io.ReadCloser, error) {\n\t// We don't want to log binary layers -- this can break terminals.\n\tctx := redact.NewContext(rl.ctx, \"omitting binary blobs from logs\")\n\treturn rl.fetcher.fetchBlob(ctx, verify.SizeUnknown, rl.digest)\n}\n```\n\nNotice that the second argument to `rl.fetcher.fetchBlob` is `verify.SizeUnknown` which results in not using the `io.LimitReader` in `verify.ReadCloser`:\nhttps://github.com/google/go-containerregistry/blob/a0658aa1d0cc7a7f1bcc4a3af9155335b6943f40/internal/verify/verify.go#L82-L100\n```golang\nfunc ReadCloser(r io.ReadCloser, size int64, h v1.Hash) (io.ReadCloser, error) {\n\tw, err := v1.Hasher(h.Algorithm)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, err\n\t}\n\tr2 := io.TeeReader(r, w) // pass all writes to the hasher.\n\tif size != SizeUnknown {\n\t\tr2 = io.LimitReader(r2, size) // if we know the size, limit to that size.\n\t}\n\treturn &and.ReadCloser{\n\t\tReader: &verifyReader{\n\t\t\tinner:    r2,\n\t\t\thasher:   w,\n\t\t\texpected: h,\n\t\t\twantSize: size,\n\t\t},\n\t\tCloseFunc: r.Close,\n\t}, nil\n}\n```\n\n### Impact\nThis issue can allow a supply-chain escalation from a compromised registry to the Cosign user: If an attacher has compromised a registry or the account of an image vendor, they can include a malicious attachment and hurt the image consumer. \n\n### Remediation\nUpdate to the latest version of Cosign, which limits the number of attachments. An environment variable can override this value.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/sigstore/cosign"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "2.2.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.2.4"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.2.3"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/security/advisories/GHSA-88jx-383q-w4qc"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-29902"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/commit/629f5f8fa672973503edde75f84dcd984637629e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/google/go-containerregistry/blob/a0658aa1d0cc7a7f1bcc4a3af9155335b6943f40/pkg/v1/remote/layer.go#L36-L40"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/9bc3ee309bf35d2f6e17f5d23f231a3d8bf580bc/pkg/oci/remote/remote.go#L228-L239"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/tag/v2.2.4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-11T17:05:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-04-10T23:15:06Z"
  }
}