CVE-2021-40110: James server Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-r58x-wjg8-63m9
Share
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-40110 is a HIGH denial of service vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting James server libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves denial of service in apache james. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.6.1.

CVE-2021-40110 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-40110
GHSA Identifier GHSA-r58x-wjg8-63m9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product James server
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2021-40110

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected James server 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.james:james-server fixed: 3.6.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.james</groupId>
    <artifactId>james-server</artifactId>
    <version>3.6.1</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.james

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-40110, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of James server in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.6.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.james 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 General Security Weakness. In James server, 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

In Apache James, using Jazzer fuzzer, we identified that an IMAP user can craft IMAP LIST commands to orchestrate a Denial Of Service using a vulnerable Regular expression. This affected Apache James prior to 3.6.1 We recommend upgrading to Apache James 3.6.1 or higher , which enforce the use of RE2J regular expression engine to execute regex in linear time without back-tracking.

CVE-2021-40110 Affected James server Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.6.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.james:james-server
maven/org.apache.james/james-server
Maven
≥ 3.1.0
< 3.6.1
3.6.1

References

NVD — CVE-2021-40110 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40110
James server Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/2
James server Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-40110?
CVE-2021-40110 is a security vulnerability in James server involving Denial of Service in Apache James under General Security Weakness.
Which James server versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.6.1 across affected packages: org.apache.james:james-server.
What version fixes CVE-2021-40110?
Upgrading to 3.6.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is james-server affected?
Yes, org.apache.james:james-server is affected in releases prior to 3.6.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.6.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-40110?
CVE-2021-40110 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-40110?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.james'. 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-r58x-wjg8-63m9",
  "modified" : "2024-05-15T06:30:04Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-08T00:40:30Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-40110" ],
  "summary" : "Denial of Service in Apache James",
  "details" : "In Apache James, using Jazzer fuzzer, we identified that an IMAP user can craft IMAP LIST commands to orchestrate a Denial Of Service using a vulnerable Regular expression. This affected Apache James prior to 3.6.1 We recommend upgrading to Apache James 3.6.1 or higher , which enforce the use of RE2J regular expression engine to execute regex in linear time without back-tracking.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.james:james-server"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.6.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40110"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/2"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-07T18:34:26Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-01-04T09:15:00Z"
  }
}