CVE-2020-27217: Hono core Improper Validation Of Specified Quantity Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9f52-hpvw-v96w
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-1284
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-27217 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) improper validation of specified quantity vulnerability (CWE-1284: Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input) affecting Hono core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper validation of specified quantity in input in eclipse hono. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.4.3.

CVE-2020-27217 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-27217
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9f52-hpvw-v96w
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-1284: Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input
Affected Product Hono core
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-2020-27217

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Hono core 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.eclipse.hono:hono-core fixed: 1.4.3 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.eclipse.hono</groupId>
    <artifactId>hono-core</artifactId>
    <version>1.4.3</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.eclipse.hono

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-27217, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.eclipse.hono

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Hono core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.4.3), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.eclipse.hono 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-1284: Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input, where the product receives input that is expected to specify a quantity (such as size or length), but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the quantity has the required properties. In Hono core, 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

In Eclipse Hono version 1.3.0 and 1.4.0 the AMQP protocol adapter does not verify the size of AMQP messages received from devices. In particular, a device may send messages that are bigger than the max-message-size that the protocol adapter has indicated during link establishment. While the AMQP 1.0 protocol explicitly disallows a peer to send such messages, a hand crafted AMQP 1.0 client could exploit this behavior in order to send a message of unlimited size to the adapter, eventually causing the adapter to fail with an out of memory exception.

CVE-2020-27217 Affected Hono core Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.4.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.eclipse.hono:hono-core
maven/org.eclipse.hono/hono-core
Maven
< 1.4.3
1.4.3

References

NVD — CVE-2020-27217 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27217
bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=567068

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-27217?
CVE-2020-27217 is a security vulnerability in Hono core involving Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input in Eclipse Hono under CWE-1284: Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input.
Which Hono core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.4.3 across affected packages: org.eclipse.hono:hono-core.
What version fixes CVE-2020-27217?
Upgrading to 1.4.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is hono-core affected?
Yes, org.eclipse.hono:hono-core is affected in releases prior to 1.4.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.4.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-27217?
CVE-2020-27217 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-2020-27217?
CVE-2020-27217 is classified under CWE-1284: Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input (The product receives input that is expected to specify a quantity (such as size or length), but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the quantity has the required properties.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-27217?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.eclipse.hono'. 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-9f52-hpvw-v96w",
  "modified" : "2021-04-19T23:18:06Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-10T20:22:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-27217" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input in Eclipse Hono",
  "details" : "In Eclipse Hono version 1.3.0 and 1.4.0 the AMQP protocol adapter does not verify the size of AMQP messages received from devices. In particular, a device may send messages that are bigger than the max-message-size that the protocol adapter has indicated during link establishment. While the AMQP 1.0 protocol explicitly disallows a peer to send such messages, a hand crafted AMQP 1.0 client could exploit this behavior in order to send a message of unlimited size to the adapter, eventually causing the adapter to fail with an out of memory exception.",
  "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.eclipse.hono:hono-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.4.3"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.4.0"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27217"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=567068"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1284" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-19T23:18:06Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-11-13T20:15:00Z"
  }
}