CVE-2024-53990: Async http client AsyncHttpClient (AHC) Library's `CookieStore` Replaces Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mfj5-cf8g-g2fv
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-53990 is a CRITICAL asynchttpclient (ahc) library's `cookiestore` replaces vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Async http client libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves asynchttpclient (ahc) library's `cookiestore` replaces explicitly defined `cookie`s. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.12.4, 3.0.1.

CVE-2024-53990 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-53990
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mfj5-cf8g-g2fv
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Async http client
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2024-53990

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Async http client 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.asynchttpclient:async-http-client fixed: 2.12.4
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.asynchttpclient</groupId>
    <artifactId>async-http-client</artifactId>
    <version>2.12.4</version>
</dependency>
org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client fixed: 3.0.1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.asynchttpclient</groupId>
    <artifactId>async-http-client</artifactId>
    <version>3.0.1</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.asynchttpclient

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2024-53990, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.asynchttpclient

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Async http client in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.12.4), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.asynchttpclient 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. In Async http client, 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

### Summary When making any HTTP request, the automatically enabled and self-managed `CookieStore` (aka cookie jar) will silently replace explicitly defined `Cookie`s with any that have the same name from the cookie jar. For services that operate with multiple users, this can result in one user's `Cookie` being used for another user's requests. ### Details This issue is described without security warnings here: https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/issues/1964 A PR to fix this issue has been made: https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/pull/2033 ### PoC 1. Add an auth `Cookie` to the `CookieStore` - This is identical to receiving an HTTP response that uses `Set-Cookie`, as shown in issue #1964 above. 2. Handle a different user's request where the same `Cookie` is provided as a passthrough, like a JWT, and attempt to use it by explicitly providing it. 3. Observe that the user's cookie in step 2 is passed as the Cookie in step 1. ### Impact This is generally going to be a problem for developers of backend services that implement third party auth features and use other features like token refresh. The moment a third party service responds by _setting_ a cookie in the response, the `CookieStore` will effectively break almost every follow-up request (hopefully by being rejected, but possibly by revealing a different user's information). If your service sets cookies based on the response that happens here, it's possible to lead to even greater levels of exposure. ### Workaroud You can avoid this issue by disabling the `CookieStore` during client creation: ```java DefaultAsyncHttpClientConfig.Builder clientBuilder = Dsl.config() .setCookieStore(null) // other configuration ; ```

CVE-2024-53990 Affected Async http client Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.12.43.0.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client
Maven
≥ 2.1.0
< 2.12.4
2.12.4
org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client
Maven
≥ 3.0.0.Beta1
< 3.0.1
3.0.1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-53990?
CVE-2024-53990 is a security vulnerability in Async http client involving AsyncHttpClient (AHC) library's `CookieStore` replaces explicitly defined `Cookie`s under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Async http client versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.12.4, 3.0.1 across affected packages: org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client.
What version fixes CVE-2024-53990?
Upgrading to 2.12.4, 3.0.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is async-http-client affected?
Yes, org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client is affected in releases prior to 2.12.4, 3.0.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2.12.4, 3.0.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-53990?
CVE-2024-53990 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2024-53990?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.asynchttpclient'. 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-mfj5-cf8g-g2fv",
  "modified" : "2024-12-18T15:56:40Z",
  "published" : "2024-12-02T20:04:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-53990" ],
  "summary" : "AsyncHttpClient (AHC) library's `CookieStore` replaces explicitly defined `Cookie`s",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nWhen making any HTTP request, the automatically enabled and self-managed `CookieStore` (aka cookie jar) will silently replace explicitly defined `Cookie`s with any that have the same name from the cookie jar. For services that operate with multiple users, this can result in one user's `Cookie` being used for another user's requests.\n\n### Details\n\nThis issue is described without security warnings here:\n\nhttps://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/issues/1964\n\nA PR to fix this issue has been made:\n\nhttps://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/pull/2033\n\n### PoC\n\n1. Add an auth `Cookie` to the `CookieStore`\n    - This is identical to receiving an HTTP response that uses `Set-Cookie`, as shown in issue #1964 above.\n2. Handle a different user's request where the same `Cookie` is provided as a passthrough, like a JWT, and attempt to use it by explicitly providing it.\n3. Observe that the user's cookie in step 2 is passed as the Cookie in step 1.\n\n### Impact\n\nThis is generally going to be a problem for developers of backend services that implement third party auth features and use other features like token refresh. The moment a third party service responds by _setting_ a cookie in the response, the `CookieStore` will effectively break almost every follow-up request (hopefully by being rejected, but possibly by revealing a different user's information).\n\nIf your service sets cookies based on the response that happens here, it's possible to lead to even greater levels of exposure.\n\n### Workaroud\n\nYou can avoid this issue by disabling the `CookieStore` during client creation:\n\n```java\nDefaultAsyncHttpClientConfig.Builder clientBuilder = Dsl.config()\n .setCookieStore(null)\n // other configuration\n ;\n```",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.12.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0.Beta1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/security/advisories/GHSA-mfj5-cf8g-g2fv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53990"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/issues/1964"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/pull/2033"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/commit/d5a83362f7aed81b93ebca559746ac9be0f95425"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/blob/main/CHANGES.md#from-20-to-21"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-12-02T20:04:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-12-02T18:15:11Z"
  }
}