CVE-2007-5615 in Jetty
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in Mortbay Jetty before 6.1.6rc0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via unspecified vectors.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2024
The CVE-2007-5615 vulnerability represents a critical CRLF injection flaw in the Mortbay Jetty web server software prior to version 6.1.6rc0. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-113 category, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of CRLF characters within HTTP headers, making it a prime example of HTTP response splitting attacks. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate HTTP responses by injecting carriage return line feed sequences that can alter the structure of HTTP headers. This particular vulnerability exists in the way the Jetty server processes user input when constructing HTTP responses, creating opportunities for attackers to inject malicious headers that can be interpreted by web browsers and intermediate proxies as part of the HTTP response.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the Jetty server's response construction mechanisms. When user-supplied data is directly incorporated into HTTP headers without proper escaping or filtering of CRLF characters, attackers can exploit this weakness to inject additional headers into the HTTP response. The attack vector typically involves crafting malicious input that contains CRLF sequences such as \r\n followed by additional header fields, allowing the attacker to manipulate the response structure and potentially redirect users to malicious sites or extract sensitive cookies. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be classified under the ATT&CK technique T1190 for "Exploit Public-Facing Application" and T1566 for "Phishing" as attackers can use this to craft deceptive responses.
The operational impact of CVE-2007-5615 extends beyond simple header injection, as it enables sophisticated attack scenarios including session hijacking, cross-site scripting exploitation, and cache poisoning. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to inject malicious content into HTTP responses, potentially causing web browsers to execute unintended actions or redirect users to malicious websites. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where the Jetty server processes untrusted user input or serves as a reverse proxy, as it can be used to manipulate the behavior of downstream applications and services. The lack of proper input validation in the server's header construction process creates a pathway for attackers to bypass security controls and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive resources or information.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Jetty installations to version 6.1.6rc0 or later, as this release includes proper input sanitization measures for HTTP headers. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation at all points where user data enters the system, ensuring that CRLF characters are properly escaped or removed from HTTP header values. Network security controls should include monitoring for unusual HTTP header patterns that might indicate injection attempts, while web application firewalls can be configured to detect and block suspicious CRLF sequences in HTTP requests. Additionally, the implementation of proper HTTP header sanitization libraries and frameworks can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in future deployments. The remediation process should also include thorough security testing of all web applications using Jetty to identify potential injection points and ensure that all user-supplied data is properly validated before being incorporated into HTTP responses. Organizations should consider implementing automated vulnerability scanning tools that can detect similar patterns in their web applications and provide alerts when potential CRLF injection vulnerabilities are present in their codebase.