CVE-2024-29903: Github.com/sigstore/cosign Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-95pr-fxf5-86gv
CVSS 4.2
CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-29903 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.2) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Github.com/sigstore/cosign libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves cosign malicious artifacts can cause machine-wide dos. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.2.4.

CVE-2024-29903 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-29903
GHSA Identifier GHSA-95pr-fxf5-86gv
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.2
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Github.com/sigstore/cosign
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.2

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
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-2024-29903

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

github.com/sigstore/cosign fixed: Latest secure release
Upgrade github.com/sigstore/cosign to Latest secure release
github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 fixed: 2.2.4
Upgrade github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 to 2.2.4
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 github.com/sigstore/cosign

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2024-29903, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/sigstore/cosign:

inspect dependencies for github.com/sigstore/cosign

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/sigstore/cosign in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.2.4), 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 CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Github.com/sigstore/cosign, 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

Maliciously-crafted software artifacts can cause denial of service of the machine running Cosign, thereby impacting all services on the machine. The root cause is that Cosign creates slices based on the number of signatures, manifests or attestations in untrusted artifacts. As such, the untrusted artifact can control the amount of memory that Cosign allocates. As an example, these lines demonstrate the problem: https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L70 This `Get()` method gets the manifest of the image, allocates a slice equal to the length of the layers in the manifest, loops through the layers and adds a new signature to the slice. The exact issue is Cosign allocates excessive memory on the lines that creates a slice of the same length as the manifests. ## Remediation Update to the latest version of Cosign, where the number of attestations, signatures and manifests has been limited to a reasonable value. ## Cosign PoC In the case of this API (also referenced above): https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L70 … The first line can contain a length that is safe for the system and will not throw a runtime panic or be blocked by other safety mechanisms. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the length of `m, err := s.Manifest()` is the max allowed (by the machine without throwing OOM panics) manifests minus 1. When Cosign then allocates a new slice on this line: `signatures := make([]oci.Signature, 0, len(m.Layers))`, Cosign will allocate more memory than is available and the machine will be denied of service, causing Cosign and all other services on the machine to be unavailable. To illustrate the issue here, we run a modified version of `TestSignedImageIndex()` in `pkg/oci/remote`: https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/14795db16417579fac0c00c11e166868d7976b61/pkg/oci/remote/index_test.go#L31-L57 Here, `wantLayers` is the number of manifests from these lines: https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L60 To test this, we want to make `wantLayers` high enough to not cause a memory on its own but still trigger the machine-wide OOM when a slice gets create with the same length. On my local machine, it would take hours to create a slice of layers that fulfils that criteria, so instead I modify the Cosign production code to reflect a long list of manifests: ```golang // Get implements oci.Signatures func (s *sigs) Get() ([]oci.Signature, error) { m, err := s.Manifest() if err != nil { return nil, err } // Here we imitate a long list of manifests ms := make([]byte, 2600000000) // imitate a long list of manifests signatures := make([]oci.Signature, 0, len(ms)) panic("Done") //signatures := make([]oci.Signature, 0, len(m.Layers)) for _, desc := range m.Layers { ``` With this modified code, if we can cause an OOM without triggering the `panic("Done")`, we have succeeded.

CVE-2024-29903 Affected Github.com/sigstore/cosign Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.2.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/sigstore/cosign
Go
≤ 2.2.3
github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2
Go
< 2.2.4
2.2.4

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-29903?
CVE-2024-29903 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/sigstore/cosign involving Cosign malicious artifacts can cause machine-wide DoS under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Github.com/sigstore/cosign versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.2.4 across affected packages: github.com/sigstore/cosign, github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2.
What version fixes CVE-2024-29903?
Upgrading to 2.2.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/sigstore/cosign affected?
Yes, github.com/sigstore/cosign is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
Is github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 affected?
Yes, github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2 is affected in releases prior to 2.2.4. Upgrade your dependency to 2.2.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-29903?
CVE-2024-29903 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.2 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-29903?
CVE-2024-29903 is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2024-29903?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/sigstore/cosign'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-95pr-fxf5-86gv",
  "modified" : "2024-04-11T17:15:46Z",
  "published" : "2024-04-11T17:15:46Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-29903" ],
  "summary" : "Cosign malicious artifacts can cause machine-wide DoS",
  "details" : "Maliciously-crafted software artifacts can cause denial of service of the machine running Cosign, thereby impacting all services on the machine. The root cause is that Cosign creates slices based on the number of signatures, manifests or attestations in untrusted artifacts. As such, the untrusted artifact can control the amount of memory that Cosign allocates.  \n\nAs an example, these lines demonstrate the problem:\n\nhttps://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L70 \n\nThis `Get()` method gets the manifest of the image, allocates a slice equal to the length of the layers in the manifest, loops through the layers and adds a new signature to the slice.\n\nThe exact issue is Cosign allocates excessive memory on the lines that creates a slice of the same length as the manifests. \n\n## Remediation\n\nUpdate to the latest version of Cosign, where the number of attestations, signatures and manifests has been limited to a reasonable value.\n\n## Cosign PoC\n\nIn the case of this API (also referenced above):\n\nhttps://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L70\n\n… The first line can contain a length that is safe for the system and will not throw a runtime panic or be blocked by other safety mechanisms. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the length of `m, err := s.Manifest()` is the max allowed (by the machine without throwing OOM panics) manifests minus 1. When Cosign then allocates a new slice on this line: `signatures := make([]oci.Signature, 0, len(m.Layers))`, Cosign will allocate more memory than is available and the machine will be denied of service, causing Cosign and all other services on the machine to be unavailable.\n\nTo illustrate the issue here, we run a modified version of `TestSignedImageIndex()` in `pkg/oci/remote`:\n\nhttps://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/14795db16417579fac0c00c11e166868d7976b61/pkg/oci/remote/index_test.go#L31-L57\n\nHere, `wantLayers` is the number of manifests from these lines:\n\nhttps://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L60\n\nTo test this, we want to make `wantLayers` high enough to not cause a memory on its own but still trigger the machine-wide OOM when a slice gets create with the same length. On my local machine, it would take hours to create a slice of layers that fulfils that criteria, so instead I modify the Cosign production code to reflect a long list of manifests:\n\n```golang\n// Get implements oci.Signatures\nfunc (s *sigs) Get() ([]oci.Signature, error) {\n        m, err := s.Manifest()\n        if err != nil {\n                return nil, err\n        }\n        // Here we imitate a long list of manifests\n        ms := make([]byte, 2600000000) // imitate a long list of manifests\n        signatures := make([]oci.Signature, 0, len(ms))\n        panic(\"Done\")\n        //signatures := make([]oci.Signature, 0, len(m.Layers))\n        for _, desc := range m.Layers {\n```\n\nWith this modified code, if we can cause an OOM without triggering the `panic(\"Done\")`, we have succeeded.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/sigstore/cosign"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "2.2.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/sigstore/cosign/v2"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.2.4"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.2.3"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/security/advisories/GHSA-95pr-fxf5-86gv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-29903"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/commit/629f5f8fa672973503edde75f84dcd984637629e"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/14795db16417579fac0c00c11e166868d7976b61/pkg/cosign/verify.go#L948-L955"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/blob/286a98a4a99c1b2f32f84b0d560e324100312280/pkg/oci/remote/signatures.go#L56-L70"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/tag/v2.2.4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-11T17:15:46Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-04-10T23:15:07Z"
  }
}