CVE-2013-0184 in Rack
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Rack::Auth::AbstractRequest in Rack 1.1.x before 1.1.5, 1.2.x before 1.2.7, 1.3.x before 1.3.9, and 1.4.x before 1.4.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unknown vectors related to "symbolized arbitrary strings."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/29/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0184 resides within the Rack web application framework, specifically affecting versions prior to the mentioned patches across multiple release branches. This issue manifests in the Rack::Auth::AbstractRequest component which handles authentication requests within web applications built on the Rack middleware. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of symbolized strings during authentication processes, creating a potential avenue for malicious actors to exploit the framework's authentication mechanisms.
The technical flaw involves the framework's treatment of arbitrary strings that are converted to symbols during authentication processing. When an attacker crafts malicious input containing specially formatted strings, the system's symbolization process can lead to resource exhaustion or unexpected behavior within the authentication module. This vulnerability falls under the category of denial of service as the malformed inputs can cause the application to consume excessive memory or processing resources, ultimately leading to service unavailability for legitimate users. The unspecified nature of the exact attack vectors suggests that multiple exploitation paths may exist within the symbol handling logic.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can compromise the overall stability and availability of web applications relying on affected Rack versions. Applications using authentication mechanisms that process user input through the vulnerable component become susceptible to resource exhaustion attacks, potentially allowing attackers to crash application processes or make them unresponsive. This affects a wide range of applications including those built with ruby on rails, sinatra, and other frameworks that depend on Rack for middleware functionality. The vulnerability particularly impacts systems where authentication is frequently processed or where user input is not properly sanitized before being passed through the authentication pipeline.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-0184 require immediate application of the vendor patches released for Rack versions 1.1.5, 1.2.7, 1.3.9, and 1.4.4 respectively. Organizations should conduct comprehensive testing of their application environments to ensure that the patched versions do not introduce compatibility issues with existing authentication logic. Additionally, implementing input validation and sanitization measures at the application level can provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper string handling and symbol management in authentication systems, aligning with common weakness patterns described in CWE-129 and CWE-707 related to improper input validation and resource management. Security practitioners should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual authentication request patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, following ATT&CK technique T1499 for resource exhaustion attacks. Organizations maintaining legacy systems should prioritize upgrading to supported Rack versions to prevent exploitation of this and related authentication bypass vulnerabilities.