CVE-2023-24620: Yamlbeans Esoteric YamlBeans XML Entity Expansion Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vj49-j7rc-h54f
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-400 CWE-611
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-24620 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) esoteric yamlbeans xml entity expansion vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Yamlbeans libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves esoteric yamlbeans xml entity expansion vulnerability. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-24620 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-24620
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vj49-j7rc-h54f
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Yamlbeans
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-24620

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

com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans:yamlbeans fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans</groupId>
    <artifactId>yamlbeans</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=com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-24620, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Yamlbeans 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=com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Yamlbeans, 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

An issue was discovered in Esoteric YamlBeans through 1.15. A crafted YAML document is able perform am XML Entity Expansion attack against YamlBeans YamlReader. By exploiting the Anchor feature in YAML, it is possible to generate a small YAML document that, when read, is expanded to a large size, causing CPU and memory consumption, such as a Java Out-of-Memory exception.

CVE-2023-24620 Affected Yamlbeans Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans:yamlbeans
maven/com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans/yamlbeans
Maven
≤ 1.15

References

NVD — CVE-2023-24620 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-24620
Yamlbeans Security Information SECURITY
https://contrastsecurity.com
Yamlbeans Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/Contrast-Security-OSS/yamlbeans/blob/main/SECURITY.md
Yamlbeans Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/EsotericSoftware
Yamlbeans Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/EsotericSoftware/yamlbeans

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-24620?
CVE-2023-24620 is a security vulnerability in Yamlbeans involving Esoteric YamlBeans XML Entity Expansion vulnerability under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Yamlbeans versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans:yamlbeans.
What version fixes CVE-2023-24620?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is yamlbeans affected?
Yes, com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans:yamlbeans 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-2023-24620?
CVE-2023-24620 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-24620?
CVE-2023-24620 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-24620?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans'. 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-vj49-j7rc-h54f",
  "modified" : "2023-09-01T17:35:22Z",
  "published" : "2023-08-25T21:30:48Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-24620" ],
  "summary" : "Esoteric YamlBeans XML Entity Expansion vulnerability",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in Esoteric YamlBeans through 1.15. A crafted YAML document is able perform am XML Entity Expansion attack against YamlBeans YamlReader. By exploiting the Anchor feature in YAML, it is possible to generate a small YAML document that, when read, is expanded to a large size, causing CPU and memory consumption, such as a Java Out-of-Memory exception.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.esotericsoftware.yamlbeans:yamlbeans"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.15"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-24620"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://contrastsecurity.com"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Contrast-Security-OSS/yamlbeans/blob/main/SECURITY.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/EsotericSoftware"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/EsotericSoftware/yamlbeans"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-611" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-25T22:04:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-08-25T20:15:07Z"
  }
}