CVE-2007-0185 in Direct Web Remoting
Summary
by MITRE
Getahead Direct Web Remoting (DWR) before 1.1.4 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion and servlet outage) via unknown vectors related to a large number of calls in a batch.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0185 affects Getahead Direct Web Remoting DWR versions prior to 1.1.4, presenting a significant denial of service risk that can lead to memory exhaustion and complete servlet outages. This issue stems from insufficient input validation and resource management within the batch processing functionality of the DWR framework, which is commonly used for enabling asynchronous web applications. The vulnerability manifests when attackers exploit the system's handling of large numbers of batched calls, creating conditions that rapidly consume available memory resources and ultimately render the servlet container unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical flaw resides in the DWR framework's inability to properly handle and limit the number of concurrent or sequential calls within batch operations, allowing malicious actors to flood the system with excessive requests that overwhelm memory allocation mechanisms. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes uncontrolled resource consumption as a critical weakness affecting system availability. The attack vector specifically targets the batch processing capabilities of DWR, where multiple remote procedure calls are executed simultaneously, creating a scenario where memory usage grows exponentially without proper bounds checking or rate limiting controls. The vulnerability represents a classic example of insufficient input sanitization and resource management, where the system fails to implement adequate safeguards against excessive resource consumption patterns.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure. When memory exhaustion occurs, the servlet container may experience crashes or severe performance degradation, leading to complete unavailability of the affected web services. This disruption can affect multiple users simultaneously, particularly in high-traffic environments where DWR is heavily utilized for real-time web interactions. The vulnerability is especially dangerous in enterprise environments where DWR is integrated into critical business applications, as it can be exploited to bring down entire application stacks and potentially impact business continuity. Attackers can leverage this weakness with minimal technical expertise, making it a particularly attractive target for automated exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-0185 should focus on immediate patching of DWR components to version 1.1.4 or later, which includes enhanced resource management and input validation controls. Organizations should implement rate limiting mechanisms at the application level to restrict the number of batched calls that can be processed within a given timeframe, preventing abuse of the batch functionality. Network-level controls such as firewall rules and load balancer configurations can also be employed to monitor and limit incoming DWR requests, particularly those exhibiting patterns of excessive batch sizes. Additionally, implementing comprehensive monitoring and alerting systems can help detect anomalous usage patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation approach should also include regular security assessments of web frameworks and components to identify similar vulnerabilities that may exist within the broader application ecosystem. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper resource management in web frameworks and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks that target resource exhaustion.