CVE-2020-17531: Tapestry project Serialization Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c566-2grg-mjwg
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-17531 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) serialization vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Tapestry project libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves serialization vulnerability in apache tapestry. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.0.1.

CVE-2020-17531 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-17531
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c566-2grg-mjwg
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Tapestry project
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-2020-17531

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Tapestry project 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.tapestry:tapestry-project fixed: 5.0.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.tapestry</groupId>
    <artifactId>tapestry-project</artifactId>
    <version>5.0.1</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.tapestry

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-17531, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Tapestry project in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.0.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tapestry 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-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Tapestry project, 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

A Java Serialization vulnerability was found in Apache Tapestry 4. Apache Tapestry 4 will attempt to deserialize the "sp" parameter even before invoking the page's validate method, leading to deserialization without authentication. Apache Tapestry 4 reached end of life in 2008 and no update to address this issue will be released. Apache Tapestry 5 versions are not vulnerable to this issue. Users of Apache Tapestry 4 should upgrade to the latest Apache Tapestry 5 version.

CVE-2020-17531 Affected Tapestry project Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.0.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.tapestry:tapestry-project
maven/org.apache.tapestry/tapestry-project
Maven
≥ 4.0
< 5.0.1
5.0.1

References

Tapestry project Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/12/02/1
NVD — CVE-2020-17531 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-17531
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r700a6a... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r700a6aa234dbff0555d4187bdc8274d7e4c0afbf35b9a3457f09ee76%40%3Cusers.tapestry.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r700a6a... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r700a6aa234dbff0555d4187bdc8274d7e4c0afbf35b9a3457f09ee76@%3Cusers.tapestry.apache.org%3E
Tapestry project Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210115-0007

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-17531?
CVE-2020-17531 is a security vulnerability in Tapestry project involving Serialization vulnerability in Apache Tapestry under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Tapestry project versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.0.1 across affected packages: org.apache.tapestry:tapestry-project.
What version fixes CVE-2020-17531?
Upgrading to 5.0.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is tapestry-project affected?
Yes, org.apache.tapestry:tapestry-project is affected in releases prior to 5.0.1. Upgrade your dependency to 5.0.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-17531?
CVE-2020-17531 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-2020-17531?
CVE-2020-17531 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-17531?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tapestry'. 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-c566-2grg-mjwg",
  "modified" : "2021-04-09T21:34:37Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-09T22:50:50Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-17531" ],
  "summary" : "Serialization vulnerability in Apache Tapestry",
  "details" : "A Java Serialization vulnerability was found in Apache Tapestry 4. Apache Tapestry 4 will attempt to deserialize the \"sp\" parameter even before invoking the page's validate method, leading to deserialization without authentication. Apache Tapestry 4 reached end of life in 2008 and no update to address this issue will be released. Apache Tapestry 5 versions are not vulnerable to this issue. Users of Apache Tapestry 4 should upgrade to the latest Apache Tapestry 5 version.",
  "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.tapestry:tapestry-project"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.0.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-17531"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r700a6aa234dbff0555d4187bdc8274d7e4c0afbf35b9a3457f09ee76%40%3Cusers.tapestry.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r700a6aa234dbff0555d4187bdc8274d7e4c0afbf35b9a3457f09ee76@%3Cusers.tapestry.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210115-0007"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/12/02/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-09T21:34:37Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-12-08T13:15:00Z"
  }
}