CVE-2018-15890: Ethereumj core Deserialization Of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hf4p-jm7r-vjjj
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-15890 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Ethereumj core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves deserialization of untrusted data in ethereumj. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2018-15890 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-15890
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hf4p-jm7r-vjjj
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Ethereumj core
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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

How to Fix CVE-2018-15890

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ethereumj 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.ethereum:ethereumj-core fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.ethereum</groupId>
    <artifactId>ethereumj-core</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</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.ethereum

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-15890, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.ethereum

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.ethereum 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 Ethereumj 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

An issue was discovered in EthereumJ 1.8.2. There is Unsafe Deserialization in ois.readObject in mine/Ethash.java and decoder.readObject in crypto/ECKey.java. When a node syncs and mines a new block, arbitrary OS commands can be run on the server.

CVE-2018-15890 Affected Ethereumj core Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.ethereum:ethereumj-core
maven/org.ethereum/ethereumj-core
Maven
≤ 1.12.0

References

NVD — CVE-2018-15890 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15890
Ethereumj core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ethereum/ethereumj/issues/1161
Ethereumj core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ethereum/ethereumj
Ethereumj core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/frohoff/ysoserial

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-15890?
CVE-2018-15890 is a security vulnerability in Ethereumj core involving Deserialization of Untrusted Data in EthereumJ under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Ethereumj core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: org.ethereum:ethereumj-core.
What version fixes CVE-2018-15890?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ethereumj-core affected?
Yes, org.ethereum:ethereumj-core is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-15890?
CVE-2018-15890 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-15890?
CVE-2018-15890 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-2018-15890?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.ethereum'. 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-hf4p-jm7r-vjjj",
  "modified" : "2021-08-17T19:40:00Z",
  "published" : "2019-07-26T16:10:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-15890" ],
  "summary" : "Deserialization of Untrusted Data in EthereumJ",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in EthereumJ 1.8.2. There is Unsafe Deserialization in ois.readObject in mine/Ethash.java and decoder.readObject in crypto/ECKey.java. When a node syncs and mines a new block, arbitrary OS commands can be run on the server.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.ethereum:ethereumj-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.12.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15890"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/ethereumj/issues/1161"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/ethereumj"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/frohoff/ysoserial"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2019-07-26T09:08:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-06-20T17:15:00Z"
  }
}