CVE-2013-4366: Httpclient Hostname Verification Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-pqwh-44jj-p5rm
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2013-4366 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) hostname verification vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Httpclient libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves hostname verification in apache httpclient 4.3 was disabled by default. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.3.1.

CVE-2013-4366 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2013-4366
GHSA Identifier GHSA-pqwh-44jj-p5rm
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Httpclient
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:3.1/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-2013-4366

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Httpclient 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.httpcomponents:httpclient fixed: 4.3.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.httpcomponents</groupId>
    <artifactId>httpclient</artifactId>
    <version>4.3.1</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.httpcomponents

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2013-4366, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Httpclient in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.3.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.httpcomponents 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 Httpclient, 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

http/impl/client/HttpClientBuilder.java in Apache HttpClient 4.3.x before 4.3.1 does not ensure that X509HostnameVerifier is not null, which allows attackers to have unspecified impact via vectors involving hostname verification.

CVE-2013-4366 Affected Httpclient Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.3.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient
maven/org.apache.httpcomponents/httpclient
Maven
≥ 4.3
< 4.3.1
4.3.1

References

NVD — CVE-2013-4366 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4366
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/httpcomponents-client/commit/08140864e3e4c0994e094c4cf0507932baf6a66
svn.apache.org/r1528614 WEB
http://svn.apache.org/r1528614
www.apache.org/dist/httpcomponents... WEB
http://www.apache.org/dist/httpcomponents/httpclient/RELEASE_NOTES-4.3.x.txt

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2013-4366?
CVE-2013-4366 is a security vulnerability in Httpclient involving Hostname verification in Apache HttpClient 4.3 was disabled by default under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Httpclient versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.3.1 across affected packages: org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient.
What version fixes CVE-2013-4366?
Upgrading to 4.3.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is httpclient affected?
Yes, org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient is affected in releases prior to 4.3.1. Upgrade your dependency to 4.3.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2013-4366?
CVE-2013-4366 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2013-4366?
CVE-2013-4366 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-2013-4366?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.httpcomponents'. 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-pqwh-44jj-p5rm",
  "modified" : "2024-03-05T17:26:38Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:25:03Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2013-4366" ],
  "summary" : "Hostname verification in Apache HttpClient 4.3 was disabled by default",
  "details" : "http/impl/client/HttpClientBuilder.java in Apache HttpClient 4.3.x before 4.3.1 does not ensure that X509HostnameVerifier is not null, which allows attackers to have unspecified impact via vectors involving hostname verification.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.3"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4366"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/httpcomponents-client/commit/08140864e3e4c0994e094c4cf0507932baf6a66"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://svn.apache.org/r1528614"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.apache.org/dist/httpcomponents/httpclient/RELEASE_NOTES-4.3.x.txt"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-09T22:47:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-10-30T19:29:00Z"
  }
}