CVE-2014-2829 in Mongoose
Summary
by MITRE
Erlang Solutions MongooseIM through 1.3.1 rev. 2 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-2014-2829 affects Erlang Solutions MongooseIM versions 1.3.1 and earlier, representing a critical denial of service weakness that exploits improper handling of compressed XML elements within XMPP streams. This flaw enables remote attackers to consume excessive system resources through carefully crafted malicious XMPP traffic, effectively rendering the targeted service unavailable to legitimate users. The vulnerability specifically resides in the XML processing logic that fails to adequately validate or limit the expansion of compressed XML elements during stream processing.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the XMPP stream parser component of MongooseIM. When processing compressed XML elements, the system does not properly enforce limits on the expansion ratio or the depth of nested elements that can be processed. This allows an attacker to construct a malicious XMPP stream containing highly compressed XML that expands to consume disproportionate memory and CPU resources during parsing. The flaw operates at the protocol level, specifically targeting the XML processing engine that handles incoming XMPP messages, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited without requiring authentication or privileged access.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on MongooseIM for instant messaging and communication services. The "xmppbomb" attack pattern allows an attacker to consume system resources at a rate that can quickly overwhelm server capacity, leading to complete service disruption. The impact extends beyond simple availability issues as the resource exhaustion can affect system stability, potentially causing cascading failures in dependent services. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in high-traffic environments where the service handles numerous concurrent connections, as the attack can rapidly consume available resources and require extensive system recovery efforts.
The attack vector for this vulnerability is straightforward and requires minimal technical expertise to execute effectively. Remote attackers can craft specially formatted XMPP streams that exploit the XML expansion behavior to consume memory and processing power at an accelerated rate. The attack can be performed from any location with network access to the targeted MongooseIM service, making it particularly dangerous for publicly exposed communication platforms. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which covers unrestricted resource consumption, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with the ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations should implement input validation controls and resource limits on XML processing, while also considering network-level rate limiting and monitoring for unusual resource consumption patterns.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-2829 should include immediate deployment of the vendor-provided patch or upgrade to MongooseIM version 1.3.2 or later, which addresses the XML processing restrictions. Network administrators should implement XML processing limits and maximum element depth restrictions to prevent excessive expansion of compressed elements. Additional protective measures include deploying rate limiting mechanisms at network boundaries, implementing connection throttling, and establishing monitoring for unusual resource consumption patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems capable of identifying suspicious XMPP traffic patterns and establishing baseline resource usage metrics for rapid anomaly detection. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of proper input validation and resource management in protocol implementations, particularly those handling structured data formats like XML that are susceptible to expansion-based attacks.