CVE-2022-41881: Netty codec haproxy Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fx2c-96vj-985v
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-674
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-41881 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion) affecting Netty codec haproxy libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves haproxymessagedecoder stack exhaustion dos. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.1.86.Final.

CVE-2022-41881 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-41881
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fx2c-96vj-985v
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion
Affected Product Netty codec haproxy
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

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:L).

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 Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2022-41881

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

io.netty:netty-codec-haproxy fixed: 4.1.86.Final 
<dependency>
    <groupId>io.netty</groupId>
    <artifactId>netty-codec-haproxy</artifactId>
    <version>4.1.86.Final</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=io.netty

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-41881, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.netty

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Netty codec haproxy in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.1.86.Final), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.netty 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-674: Uncontrolled Recursion, where the product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack. In Netty codec haproxy, 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 A StackOverflowError can be raised when parsing a malformed crafted message due to an infinite recursion. ### Patches Users should upgrade to 4.1.86.Final. ### Workarounds There is no workaround, except using a custom HaProxyMessageDecoder. ### References When parsing a TLV with type = PP2_TYPE_SSL, the value can be again a TLV with type = PP2_TYPE_SSL and so on. The only limitation of the recursion is that the TLV length cannot be bigger than 0xffff because it is encoded in an unsigned short type. Providing a TLV with a nesting level that is large enough will lead to raising of a StackOverflowError. The StackOverflowError will be caught if HAProxyMessageDecoder is used as part of Netty’s ChannelPipeline, but using it directly without the ChannelPipeline will lead to a thrown exception / crash. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [netty](https://github.com/netty/netty)

CVE-2022-41881 Affected Netty codec haproxy Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.1.86.Final
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
io.netty:netty-codec-haproxy
maven/io.netty/netty-codec-haproxy
Maven
< 4.1.86.Final
4.1.86.Final

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-fx2c-96vj-985v
NVD — CVE-2022-41881 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-41881
Netty codec haproxy Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/netty/netty
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00008.html
Netty codec haproxy Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230113-0004
Netty codec haproxy Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5316

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-41881?
CVE-2022-41881 is a security vulnerability in Netty codec haproxy involving HAProxyMessageDecoder Stack Exhaustion DoS under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion.
Which Netty codec haproxy versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.1.86.Final across affected packages: io.netty:netty-codec-haproxy.
What version fixes CVE-2022-41881?
Upgrading to 4.1.86.Final (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is netty-codec-haproxy affected?
Yes, io.netty:netty-codec-haproxy is affected in releases prior to 4.1.86.Final. Upgrade your dependency to 4.1.86.Final or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-41881?
CVE-2022-41881 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-41881?
CVE-2022-41881 is classified under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion (The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-41881?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.netty'. 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-fx2c-96vj-985v",
  "modified" : "2023-01-13T17:18:24Z",
  "published" : "2022-12-12T21:24:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-41881" ],
  "summary" : "HAProxyMessageDecoder Stack Exhaustion DoS",
  "details" : "### Impact\nA StackOverflowError can be raised when parsing a malformed crafted message due to an infinite recursion.\n\n### Patches\nUsers should upgrade to 4.1.86.Final.\n\n### Workarounds\nThere is no workaround, except using a custom HaProxyMessageDecoder.\n\n### References\nWhen parsing a TLV with type = PP2_TYPE_SSL, the value can be again a TLV with type = PP2_TYPE_SSL and so on.\nThe only limitation of the recursion is that the TLV length cannot be bigger than 0xffff because it is encoded in an unsigned short type.\nProviding a TLV with a nesting level that is large enough will lead to raising of a StackOverflowError.\nThe StackOverflowError will be caught if HAProxyMessageDecoder is used as part of Netty’s ChannelPipeline, but using it directly without the ChannelPipeline will lead to a thrown exception / crash.\n\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [netty](https://github.com/netty/netty)\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "io.netty:netty-codec-haproxy"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.1.86.Final"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-fx2c-96vj-985v"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-41881"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netty/netty"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00008.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230113-0004"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5316"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-674" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-12T21:24:29Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-12-12T18:15:00Z"
  }
}