CVE-2018-11771: Commons compress Commons-compress Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hrmr-f5m6-m9pq
CVSS 5.5
CWE-835
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-11771 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) commons-compress vulnerability (CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')) affecting Commons compress libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves commons-compress. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.18.

CVE-2018-11771 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-11771
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hrmr-f5m6-m9pq
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Affected Product Commons compress
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-11771

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Commons compress 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.commons:commons-compress fixed: 1.18
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
    <artifactId>commons-compress</artifactId>
    <version>1.18</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.commons

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-11771, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Commons compress in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.18), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.commons 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-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'), where the product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. In Commons compress, 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

When reading a specially crafted ZIP archive, the read method of Apache Commons Compress 1.7 to 1.17's ZipArchiveInputStream can fail to return the correct EOF indication after the end of the stream has been reached. When combined with a java.io.InputStreamReader this can lead to an infinite stream, which can be used to mount a denial of service attack against services that use Compress' zip package.

CVE-2018-11771 Affected Commons compress Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.18
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.commons:commons-compress
Maven
≥ 1.7
< 1.18
1.18

References

NVD — CVE-2018-11771 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11771
Commons compress Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
lists.apache.org/thread.html/ff8dcfe... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ff8dcfe29377088ab655fda9d585dccd5b1f07fabd94ae84fd60a7f8@%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/f9cdd32... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/f9cdd32af7d73e943452167d15801db39e8130409ebb9efb243b3f41@%3Ccommits.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/f28052d... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/f28052d04cb8dbaae39bfd3dc8438e58c2a8be306a3f381f4728d7c1@%3Ccommits.commons.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/eeecc16... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/eeecc1669242b28a3777ae13c68b376b0148d589d3d8170340d61120@%3Cdev.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/e3eae9e... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/e3eae9e6fc021c4c22dda59a335d21c12eecab480b48115a2f098ef6@%3Ccommits.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/c7954dc... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/c7954dc1e8fafd7ca1449f078953b419ebf8936e087f235f3bd024be@%3Ccommits.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/b907e70... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b907e70bc422905d7962fd18f863f746bf7b4e7ed9da25c148580c61@%3Cnotifications.commons.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/b8ef29d... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b8ef29df0f1d55aa741170748352ae8e425c7b1d286b2f257711a2dd@%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/b8da751... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b8da751fc0ca949534cdf2744111da6bb0349d2798fac94b0a50f330@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/714c6ac... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/714c6ac1b1b50f8557e7342903ef45f1538a7bc60a0b47d6e48c273d@%3Ccommits.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/6c79965... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/6c79965066c30d4e330e04d911d3761db41b82c89ae38d9a6b37a6f1@%3Cdev.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/35f60d6... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/35f60d6d0407c13c39411038ba1aca71d92595ed7041beff4d07f2ee@%3Ccommits.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/3565494... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/3565494c263dfeb4dcb2a71cb24d09a1ca285cd6ac74edc025a3af8a@%3Ccommits.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/0adb631... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/0adb631517766e793e18a59723e2df08ced41eb9a57478f14781c9f7@%3Cdev.tinkerpop.apache.org%3E
Commons compress Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/commons-compress
Commons compress Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105139
Commons compress Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041503

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-11771?
CVE-2018-11771 is a security vulnerability in Commons compress involving commons-compress under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop').
Which Commons compress versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.18 across affected packages: org.apache.commons:commons-compress.
What version fixes CVE-2018-11771?
Upgrading to 1.18 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is commons-compress affected?
Yes, org.apache.commons:commons-compress is affected in releases prior to 1.18. Upgrade your dependency to 1.18 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-11771?
CVE-2018-11771 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-11771?
CVE-2018-11771 is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') (The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-11771?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.commons'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-hrmr-f5m6-m9pq",
  "modified" : "2024-06-05T17:11:42Z",
  "published" : "2018-10-19T16:41:27Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-11771" ],
  "summary" : "Moderate severity vulnerability that affects org.apache.commons:commons-compress",
  "details" : "When reading a specially crafted ZIP archive, the read method of Apache Commons Compress 1.7 to 1.17's ZipArchiveInputStream can fail to return the correct EOF indication after the end of the stream has been reached. When combined with a java.io.InputStreamReader this can lead to an infinite stream, which can be used to mount a denial of service attack against services that use Compress' zip package.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.commons:commons-compress"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.7"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.18"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11771"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
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  }, {
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  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-835" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:40:55Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-08-16T15:29:00Z"
  }
}