CVE-2011-1322 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE
The SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ) implementation in the Web Services component in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 6.1.0.x before 6.1.0.37 and 7.x before 7.0.0.15 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via encrypted SOAP messages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1322 represents a significant denial of service weakness within IBM WebSphere Application Server's Web Services component. This flaw specifically affects the SOAP with Attachments API for Java implementation, which is a standard Java API for processing SOAP messages with attachments. The vulnerability manifests when the system processes encrypted SOAP messages, leading to excessive memory consumption that can ultimately result in system unresponsiveness or complete service disruption. The affected versions include WebSphere Application Server 6.1.0.x prior to 6.1.0.37 and 7.x prior to 7.0.0.15, indicating this was a long-standing issue that required specific patching to resolve.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of encrypted SOAP messages within the SAAJ implementation. When the WebSphere Application Server receives encrypted SOAP messages, the processing logic fails to adequately manage memory allocation for these messages, leading to a memory leak or memory exhaustion scenario. This flaw operates at the application layer and can be exploited remotely without authentication, making it particularly dangerous as attackers can trigger the condition from external network locations. The vulnerability is classified as a memory consumption issue, which falls under CWE-400 - Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, and represents a classic denial of service vector that can be amplified through repeated exploitation attempts.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1322 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the overall stability and availability of web services hosted on affected WebSphere instances. Attackers can repeatedly send specially crafted encrypted SOAP messages to consume system memory resources, eventually causing the application server to become unresponsive or crash entirely. This type of attack aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 - Endpoint Denial of Service, where adversaries target application-level resources to prevent legitimate users from accessing services. The vulnerability affects the core Web Services functionality of WebSphere, which could impact enterprise applications relying on SOAP-based communication protocols, potentially causing cascading failures throughout complex enterprise infrastructures.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches for WebSphere Application Server 6.1.0.37 and 7.0.0.15 releases. Network-level protections such as rate limiting and message size restrictions can provide additional defense in depth measures. System administrators should also monitor memory consumption patterns and implement automated alerting for unusual resource usage that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper resource management in web service implementations and highlights the need for comprehensive testing of encryption handling routines within application servers. Organizations should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify patterns consistent with this attack vector and establish incident response procedures for handling denial of service conditions affecting critical web services infrastructure.