CVE-2014-2746 in Tigase
Summary
by MITRE
net/IOService.java in Tigase before 5.2.1 does not properly restrict the processing of compressed XML elements, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (resource consumption) via a crafted XMPP stream, aka an "xmppbomb" attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/10/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-2746 resides within the Tigase XMPP server software, specifically in the net/IOService.java component that handles incoming XML data streams. This flaw represents a critical denial of service vulnerability that affects versions prior to 5.2.1, enabling remote attackers to exploit a weakness in the XML processing logic that fails to properly validate compressed XML elements. The vulnerability is classified under the CWE-400 category as an unspecified vulnerability related to resource consumption, and it aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for network denial of service attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the XML processing pipeline of the Tigase server. When processing compressed XML elements in XMPP streams, the IOService.java component fails to properly enforce resource limits or validate the structure of compressed elements, allowing malicious actors to craft specially crafted XMPP streams that contain malformed or excessively nested compressed XML data. This weakness enables attackers to consume disproportionate system resources through a single malicious connection attempt, effectively exhausting memory and CPU resources on the target server.
The operational impact of this vulnerability manifests as a remote denial of service condition where attackers can systematically consume server resources without requiring authentication or special privileges. The "xmppbomb" attack pattern involves sending carefully constructed XML data that appears legitimate but contains compressed elements designed to trigger excessive processing overhead. This attack vector can be particularly devastating in environments where Tigase servers handle high volumes of XMPP traffic, as a single malicious connection can potentially bring down the entire service or significantly degrade performance for legitimate users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-2746 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Tigase installations to version 5.2.1 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for proper XML element validation. Organizations should also implement network-level controls such as rate limiting and connection throttling to prevent resource exhaustion attacks, while monitoring for unusual patterns in XMPP traffic that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additional defensive measures include configuring XML parsing limits, implementing proper input sanitization, and establishing baseline performance monitoring to quickly detect resource consumption anomalies that could indicate successful exploitation of this vulnerability.