CVE-2018-17201: Sanselan Improper Input Validation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rjx9-2936-9ffx
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-17201 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) improper input validation vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Sanselan libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper input validation in apache sanselan. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2018-17201 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-17201
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rjx9-2936-9ffx
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Sanselan
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:3.0/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-2018-17201

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Sanselan 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.sanselan:sanselan fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.sanselan</groupId>
    <artifactId>sanselan</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</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.sanselan

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-17201, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.sanselan 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 Sanselan, 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

Certain input files could make the code hang when Apache Sanselan 0.97-incubator was used to parse them, which could be used in a DoS attack. Note that Apache Sanselan (incubating) was renamed to Apache Commons Imaging.

CVE-2018-17201 Affected Sanselan Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.sanselan:sanselan
maven/org.apache.sanselan/sanselan
Maven
≤ 0.97-incubator

References

NVD — CVE-2018-17201 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17201
lists.apache.org/thread.html/cd37861... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/cd37861963aa6d2694c8947d464c99614d3e1a9db6c1a2a8b7b5840a@%3Cdev.commons.apache.org%3E

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-17201?
CVE-2018-17201 is a security vulnerability in Sanselan involving Improper Input Validation in Apache Sanselan under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Sanselan versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: org.apache.sanselan:sanselan.
What version fixes CVE-2018-17201?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is sanselan affected?
Yes, org.apache.sanselan:sanselan is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-17201?
CVE-2018-17201 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-17201?
CVE-2018-17201 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-2018-17201?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.sanselan'. 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-rjx9-2936-9ffx",
  "modified" : "2021-08-03T22:54:50Z",
  "published" : "2019-05-14T04:01:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-17201" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Input Validation in Apache Sanselan",
  "details" : "Certain input files could make the code hang when Apache Sanselan 0.97-incubator was used to parse them, which could be used in a DoS attack. Note that Apache Sanselan (incubating) was renamed to Apache Commons Imaging.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.sanselan:sanselan"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.97-incubator"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17201"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/cd37861963aa6d2694c8947d464c99614d3e1a9db6c1a2a8b7b5840a@%3Cdev.commons.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2019-05-09T15:10:25Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-05-06T18:29:00Z"
  }
}