CVE-2021-31409: Vaadin compatibility server Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c332-w4jm-55wv
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-31409 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Vaadin compatibility server libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves regular expression denial of service (redos) in emailvalidator class in v7 compatibility module in vaadin 8. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 8.13.0.

CVE-2021-31409 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-31409
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c332-w4jm-55wv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Vaadin compatibility server
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-2021-31409

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

com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server fixed: 8.13.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.vaadin</groupId>
    <artifactId>vaadin-compatibility-server</artifactId>
    <version>8.13.0</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=com.vaadin

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-31409, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.vaadin

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Vaadin compatibility server in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 8.13.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.vaadin 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Vaadin compatibility server, 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

Unsafe validation RegEx in `EmailValidator` component in `com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server` versions 8.0.0 through 8.12.4 (Vaadin versions 8.0.0 through 8.12.4) allows attackers to cause uncontrolled resource consumption by submitting malicious email addresses.

CVE-2021-31409 Affected Vaadin compatibility server Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
8.13.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server
maven/com.vaadin/vaadin-compatibility-server
Maven
≥ 8.0.0
< 8.13.0
8.13.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/vaadin/framework/security/advisories/GHSA-c332-w4jm-55wv
NVD — CVE-2021-31409 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31409
Vaadin compatibility server Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/vaadin/framework/issues/12240
Vaadin compatibility server Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/vaadin/framework/pull/12241
Vaadin compatibility server Security Information SECURITY
https://vaadin.com/security/cve-2021-31409

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-31409?
CVE-2021-31409 is a security vulnerability in Vaadin compatibility server involving Regular expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in EmailValidator class in V7 compatibility module in Vaadin 8 under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Vaadin compatibility server versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 8.13.0 across affected packages: com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server.
What version fixes CVE-2021-31409?
Upgrading to 8.13.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is vaadin-compatibility-server affected?
Yes, com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server is affected in releases prior to 8.13.0. Upgrade your dependency to 8.13.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-31409?
CVE-2021-31409 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-2021-31409?
CVE-2021-31409 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-31409?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.vaadin'. 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-c332-w4jm-55wv",
  "modified" : "2021-04-30T17:43:47Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-04T17:42:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-31409" ],
  "summary" : "Regular expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in EmailValidator class in V7 compatibility module in Vaadin 8",
  "details" : "Unsafe validation RegEx in `EmailValidator` component in `com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server` versions 8.0.0 through 8.12.4 (Vaadin versions 8.0.0 through 8.12.4) allows attackers to cause uncontrolled resource consumption by submitting malicious email addresses.",
  "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" : "com.vaadin:vaadin-compatibility-server"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "8.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "8.13.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vaadin/framework/security/advisories/GHSA-c332-w4jm-55wv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31409"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vaadin/framework/issues/12240"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vaadin/framework/pull/12241"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://vaadin.com/security/cve-2021-31409"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-30T17:43:47Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-05-06T13:15:00Z"
  }
}