CVE-2021-23937: Wicket core Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hmhg-95wh-r699
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23937 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Wicket core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves dns based denial of service in apache wicket. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 9.3.0, 8.12.0, 7.18.0.

CVE-2021-23937 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23937
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hmhg-95wh-r699
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Wicket 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-2021-23937

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Wicket 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.apache.wicket:wicket-core fixed: 9.3.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.wicket</groupId>
    <artifactId>wicket-core</artifactId>
    <version>9.3.0</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.wicket:wicket-core fixed: 8.12.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.wicket</groupId>
    <artifactId>wicket-core</artifactId>
    <version>8.12.0</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.wicket:wicket-core fixed: 7.18.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.wicket</groupId>
    <artifactId>wicket-core</artifactId>
    <version>7.18.0</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.wicket

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-23937, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Wicket core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 9.3.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.wicket 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-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Wicket 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

A DNS proxy and possible amplification attack vulnerability in WebClientInfo of Apache Wicket allows an attacker to trigger arbitrary DNS lookups from the server when the X-Forwarded-For header is not properly sanitized. This DNS lookup can be engineered to overload an internal DNS server or to slow down request processing of the Apache Wicket application causing a possible denial of service on either the internal infrastructure or the web application itself. This issue affects Apache Wicket Apache Wicket 9.x version 9.2.0 and prior versions; Apache Wicket 8.x version 8.11.0 and prior versions; Apache Wicket 7.x version 7.17.0 and prior versions and Apache Wicket 6.x version 6.2.0 and later versions.

CVE-2021-23937 Affected Wicket core Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
9.3.08.12.07.18.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.wicket:wicket-core
maven/org.apache.wicket/wicket-core
Maven
≥ 9.0.0
< 9.3.0
9.3.0
org.apache.wicket:wicket-core
maven/org.apache.wicket/wicket-core
Maven
≥ 8.0.0
< 8.12.0
8.12.0
org.apache.wicket:wicket-core
maven/org.apache.wicket/wicket-core
Maven
< 7.18.0
7.18.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23937 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23937
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/wicket/commit/84f62a5cff462eaa3bfaf171b0638c7e7feea30d
Wicket core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/wicket
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r127c0c... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r127c0c1f3cb71e5bc619ad1e4b898b97c49758d1f20a54042966473e@%3Cannounce.wicket.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r127c0c... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r127c0c1f3cb71e5bc619ad1e4b898b97c49758d1f20a54042966473e@%3Cusers.wicket.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8ccbd9... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8ccbd91b56ebf045d151bd4282bfeea7842a0698a0b76118fca8fe78@%3Cdev.wicket.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc2ef22... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc2ef22f90793e158cef65a7e370cdbca023c499d1403d65feeca870d%40%3Cusers.wicket.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc2ef22... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc2ef22f90793e158cef65a7e370cdbca023c499d1403d65feeca870d@%3Cusers.wicket.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rce158b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rce158bb896c9ef812393a11646fdef7b9023833e54854c4302ff7b70@%3Cdev.wicket.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rce23bb... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rce23bba1e11368f9f4cccce0e9b02b88dcdac4e4b2304e66bd098cf5@%3Cannounce.wicket.apache.org%3E
Wicket core Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/25/2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23937?
CVE-2021-23937 is a security vulnerability in Wicket core involving DNS based denial of service in Apache Wicket under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Wicket core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 9.3.0, 8.12.0, 7.18.0 across affected packages: org.apache.wicket:wicket-core.
What version fixes CVE-2021-23937?
Upgrading to 9.3.0, 8.12.0, 7.18.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is wicket-core affected?
Yes, org.apache.wicket:wicket-core is affected in releases prior to 9.3.0, 8.12.0, 7.18.0. Upgrade your dependency to 9.3.0, 8.12.0, 7.18.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-23937?
CVE-2021-23937 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-2021-23937?
CVE-2021-23937 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-23937?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.wicket'. 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 
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  "database_specific" : {
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    "severity" : "HIGH",
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    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-05-31T18:25:53Z",
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}