CVE-2021-42836: Github.com/tidwall/gjson Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-ppj4-34rq-v8j9
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400 CWE-1333 CWE-697
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-42836 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Github.com/tidwall/gjson libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves github.com/tidwall/gjson vulnerable to redos attack. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.9.3.

CVE-2021-42836 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-42836
GHSA Identifier GHSA-ppj4-34rq-v8j9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Github.com/tidwall/gjson
Package Ecosystem Go
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-2021-42836

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

github.com/tidwall/gjson fixed: 1.9.3 
Upgrade github.com/tidwall/gjson to 1.9.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for github.com/tidwall/gjson

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-42836, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/tidwall/gjson:

inspect dependencies for github.com/tidwall/gjson

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/tidwall/gjson in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.9.3), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

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 Github.com/tidwall/gjson, 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

GJSON is a Go package that provides a fast and simple way to get values from a json document. GJSON before 1.9.3 allows a ReDoS (regular expression denial of service) attack.

CVE-2021-42836 Affected Github.com/tidwall/gjson Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.9.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/tidwall/gjson
golang/github.com/tidwall/gjson
Go
< 1.9.3
1.9.3

References

NVD — CVE-2021-42836 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-42836
Github.com/tidwall/gjson Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/issues/236
Github.com/tidwall/gjson Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/issues/237
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/commit/590010fdac311cc8990ef5c97448d4fec8f29944
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/commit/77a57fda87dca6d0d7d4627d512a630f89a91c96
Github.com/tidwall/gjson Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/tidwall/gjson
Github.com/tidwall/gjson Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/compare/v1.9.2...v1.9.3
pkg.go.dev/vuln/go-2021-0265 WEB
https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2021-0265

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-42836?
CVE-2021-42836 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/tidwall/gjson involving github.com/tidwall/gjson Vulnerable to REDoS attack under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Github.com/tidwall/gjson versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.9.3 across affected packages: github.com/tidwall/gjson.
What version fixes CVE-2021-42836?
Upgrading to 1.9.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/tidwall/gjson affected?
Yes, github.com/tidwall/gjson is affected in releases prior to 1.9.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.9.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-42836?
CVE-2021-42836 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-2021-42836?
CVE-2021-42836 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 Go dependencies for CVE-2021-42836?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/tidwall/gjson'. 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-ppj4-34rq-v8j9",
  "modified" : "2024-05-20T20:41:04Z",
  "published" : "2021-10-25T19:43:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-42836" ],
  "summary" : "github.com/tidwall/gjson Vulnerable to REDoS attack",
  "details" : "GJSON is a Go package that provides a fast and simple way to get values from a json document. GJSON before 1.9.3 allows a ReDoS (regular expression denial of service) attack.",
  "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" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/tidwall/gjson"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.9.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-42836"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/issues/236"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/issues/237"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/commit/590010fdac311cc8990ef5c97448d4fec8f29944"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/commit/77a57fda87dca6d0d7d4627d512a630f89a91c96"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tidwall/gjson"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tidwall/gjson/compare/v1.9.2...v1.9.3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2021-0265"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1333", "CWE-400", "CWE-697" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-10-25T18:27:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-10-22T18:15:00Z"
  }
}