CVE-2016-8744: Brooklyn Deserialization Of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9cqh-5x6g-wgm9
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-8744 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Brooklyn libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves deserialization of untrusted data in apache brooklyn. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.10.0.

CVE-2016-8744 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-8744
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9cqh-5x6g-wgm9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Brooklyn
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

How to Fix CVE-2016-8744

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Brooklyn 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.apache.brooklyn:brooklyn fixed: 0.10.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.brooklyn</groupId>
    <artifactId>brooklyn</artifactId>
    <version>0.10.0</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.apache.brooklyn

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2016-8744, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.brooklyn

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Brooklyn in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.10.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.brooklyn 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-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Brooklyn, 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

Apache Brooklyn uses the SnakeYAML library for parsing YAML inputs. SnakeYAML allows the use of YAML tags to indicate that SnakeYAML should unmarshal data to a Java type. In the default configuration in Brooklyn before 0.10.0, SnakeYAML will allow unmarshalling to any Java type available on the classpath. This could provide an authenticated user with a means to cause the JVM running Brooklyn to load and run Java code without detection by Brooklyn. Such code would have the privileges of the Java process running Brooklyn, including the ability to open files and network connections, and execute system commands. There is known to be a proof-of-concept exploit using this vulnerability.

CVE-2016-8744 Affected Brooklyn Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.10.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.brooklyn:brooklyn
maven/org.apache.brooklyn/brooklyn
Maven
< 0.10.0
0.10.0

References

NVD — CVE-2016-8744 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8744
Brooklyn Security Information SECURITY
https://brooklyn.apache.org/community/security/CVE-2016-8744.html
lists.apache.org/thread.html/3f4d09c... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/3f4d09c1c1a3cdfd1da0a05c8362769b917c078eed5b6c2f8e37a761@%3Cdev.brooklyn.apache.org%3E

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-8744?
CVE-2016-8744 is a security vulnerability in Brooklyn involving Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache Brooklyn under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Brooklyn versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.10.0 across affected packages: org.apache.brooklyn:brooklyn.
What version fixes CVE-2016-8744?
Upgrading to 0.10.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is brooklyn affected?
Yes, org.apache.brooklyn:brooklyn is affected in releases prior to 0.10.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.10.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-8744?
CVE-2016-8744 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-8744?
CVE-2016-8744 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2016-8744?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.brooklyn'. 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-9cqh-5x6g-wgm9",
  "modified" : "2022-11-01T22:36:28Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T00:36:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-8744" ],
  "summary" : "Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache Brooklyn",
  "details" : "Apache Brooklyn uses the SnakeYAML library for parsing YAML inputs. SnakeYAML allows the use of YAML tags to indicate that SnakeYAML should unmarshal data to a Java type. In the default configuration in Brooklyn before 0.10.0, SnakeYAML will allow unmarshalling to any Java type available on the classpath. This could provide an authenticated user with a means to cause the JVM running Brooklyn to load and run Java code without detection by Brooklyn. Such code would have the privileges of the Java process running Brooklyn, including the ability to open files and network connections, and execute system commands. There is known to be a proof-of-concept exploit using this vulnerability.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.brooklyn:brooklyn"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.10.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8744"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://brooklyn.apache.org/community/security/CVE-2016-8744.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/3f4d09c1c1a3cdfd1da0a05c8362769b917c078eed5b6c2f8e37a761@%3Cdev.brooklyn.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-11-01T22:36:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-09-13T16:29:00Z"
  }
}