CVE-2014-0109 in CXF
Summary
by MITRE
Apache CXF before 2.6.14 and 2.7.x before 2.7.11 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a large request with the Content-Type set to text/html to a SOAP endpoint, which triggers an error.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0109 represents a significant denial of service weakness in Apache CXF web services framework that affected versions prior to 2.6.14 and 2.7.11. This flaw specifically targets the handling of malformed Content-Type headers in SOAP endpoints, creating a scenario where remote attackers can exploit the system's memory consumption patterns to disrupt service availability. The vulnerability stems from the framework's inadequate validation of incoming request headers, particularly when the Content-Type is improperly set to text/html instead of the expected SOAP content types.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the processing of malformed requests where the Content-Type header is deliberately set to text/html while the actual request body contains SOAP data. When Apache CXF receives such requests, it attempts to parse and process the content according to its internal error handling mechanisms, which inadvertently triggers excessive memory allocation patterns. This occurs because the framework's content negotiation and error processing routines are not properly constrained when encountering unexpected content types, leading to memory exhaustion through repeated allocation of resources without proper cleanup or rate limiting.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-0109 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise system stability and availability. Attackers can repeatedly send malformed requests with large content bodies, causing the application server to consume increasing amounts of memory until system resources are exhausted. This type of attack can be particularly devastating in production environments where memory resources are limited and service availability is critical. The vulnerability can be exploited with minimal technical expertise, making it a preferred choice for attackers seeking to disrupt web services without requiring deep system knowledge or sophisticated attack vectors.
Security practitioners should recognize this vulnerability as a classic example of resource exhaustion through improper input validation, which aligns with CWE-400 vulnerability classification for unrestricted resource consumption. The attack pattern demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service, where adversaries leverage application-level flaws to consume system resources. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of Apache CXF, implementing rate limiting on incoming requests, and configuring proper Content-Type validation at the application level. Additionally, network-level firewalls and intrusion prevention systems can be configured to detect and block requests with suspicious Content-Type headers, providing defense-in-depth protection against this specific attack vector.