CVE-2016-4423: Symfony/security http Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-whgv-8cg3-7hcm
Share
CVSS 7.5
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-4423 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Symfony/security http libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves symphony denial of service via overlong usernames. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6.

CVE-2016-4423 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-4423
GHSA Identifier GHSA-whgv-8cg3-7hcm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Symfony/security http
Package Ecosystem Packagist
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-2016-4423

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

symfony/security-http fixed: 2.3.41 
Upgrade symfony/security-http to 2.3.41
symfony/security-http fixed: 2.7.13 
Upgrade symfony/security-http to 2.7.13
symfony/security-http fixed: 2.8.6 
Upgrade symfony/security-http to 2.8.6
symfony/security-http fixed: 3.0.6 
Upgrade symfony/security-http to 3.0.6
symfony/security fixed: 2.3.41 
Upgrade symfony/security to 2.3.41
symfony/security fixed: 2.7.13 
Upgrade symfony/security to 2.7.13
symfony/security fixed: 2.8.6 
Upgrade symfony/security to 2.8.6
symfony/security fixed: 3.0.6 
Upgrade symfony/security to 3.0.6
symfony/symfony fixed: 2.3.41 
Upgrade symfony/symfony to 2.3.41
symfony/symfony fixed: 2.7.13 
Upgrade symfony/symfony to 2.7.13
symfony/symfony fixed: 2.8.6 
Upgrade symfony/symfony to 2.8.6
symfony/symfony fixed: 3.0.6 
Upgrade symfony/symfony to 3.0.6
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 symfony/security-http

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2016-4423, inspect your project dependencies for Symfony/security http:

inspect dependencies for symfony/security-http

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Symfony/security http in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.3.41), 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 General Security Weakness. In Symfony/security http, 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

The attemptAuthentication function in `Component/Security/Http/Firewall/UsernamePasswordFormAuthenticationListener.php` in Symfony before 2.3.41, 2.7.x before 2.7.13, 2.8.x before 2.8.6, and 3.0.x before 3.0.6 does not limit the length of a username stored in a session, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (session storage consumption) via a series of authentication attempts with long, non-existent usernames.

CVE-2016-4423 Affected Symfony/security http Versions

12 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.3.412.7.132.8.63.0.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
symfony/security-http
 Packagist
≥ 2.3.0
< 2.3.41
2.3.41
symfony/security-http
 Packagist
≥ 2.4.0
< 2.7.13
2.7.13
symfony/security-http
 Packagist
≥ 2.8.0
< 2.8.6
2.8.6
symfony/security-http
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.0.6
3.0.6
symfony/security
 Packagist
≥ 2.3.0
< 2.3.41
2.3.41
symfony/security
 Packagist
≥ 2.4.0
< 2.7.13
2.7.13
symfony/security
 Packagist
≥ 2.8.0
< 2.8.6
2.8.6
symfony/security
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.0.6
3.0.6
symfony/symfony
 Packagist
≥ 2.3.0
< 2.3.41
2.3.41
symfony/symfony
 Packagist
≥ 2.4.0
< 2.7.13
2.7.13
symfony/symfony
 Packagist
≥ 2.8.0
< 2.8.6
2.8.6
symfony/symfony
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.0.6
3.0.6

References

NVD — CVE-2016-4423 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4423
Symfony/security http Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/symfony/symfony/pull/18733
Symfony/security http Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/security-http/CVE-2016-4423.yaml
Symfony/security http Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/security/CVE-2016-4423.yaml
Symfony/security http Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/symfony/CVE-2016-4423.yaml
Symfony/security http Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/symfony/symfony
symfony.com/blog/cve-2016-4423-... WEB
https://symfony.com/blog/cve-2016-4423-large-username-storage-in-session
symfony.com/cve-2016-4423 WEB
https://symfony.com/cve-2016-4423
Symfony/security http Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3588

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-4423?
CVE-2016-4423 is a security vulnerability in Symfony/security http involving Symphony Denial of Service Via Overlong Usernames under General Security Weakness.
Which Symfony/security http versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6 across affected packages: symfony/security-http, symfony/security, symfony/symfony.
What version fixes CVE-2016-4423?
Upgrading to 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is symfony/security-http affected?
Yes, symfony/security-http is affected in releases prior to 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6. Upgrade your dependency to 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6 or later.
Is symfony/security affected?
Yes, symfony/security is affected in releases prior to 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6. Upgrade your dependency to 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-4423?
CVE-2016-4423 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-2016-4423?
CVE-2016-4423 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2016-4423?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for symfony/security-http'. 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-whgv-8cg3-7hcm",
  "modified" : "2024-04-25T22:08:02Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T03:54:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-4423" ],
  "summary" : "Symphony Denial of Service Via Overlong Usernames",
  "details" : "The attemptAuthentication function in `Component/Security/Http/Firewall/UsernamePasswordFormAuthenticationListener.php` in Symfony before 2.3.41, 2.7.x before 2.7.13, 2.8.x before 2.8.6, and 3.0.x before 3.0.6 does not limit the length of a username stored in a session, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (session storage consumption) via a series of authentication attempts with long, non-existent usernames.",
  "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" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security-http"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.3.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.3.41"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security-http"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.4.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.13"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security-http"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.8.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.8.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security-http"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.3.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.3.41"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.4.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.13"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.8.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.8.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/security"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/symfony"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.3.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.3.41"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/symfony"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.4.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.13"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/symfony"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.8.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.8.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "symfony/symfony"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4423"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/symfony/symfony/pull/18733"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/security-http/CVE-2016-4423.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/security/CVE-2016-4423.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/symfony/CVE-2016-4423.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/symfony/symfony"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://symfony.com/blog/cve-2016-4423-large-username-storage-in-session"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://symfony.com/cve-2016-4423"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3588"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-25T22:08:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2016-06-01T22:59:00Z"
  }
}