CVE-2015-9241 in Hapi Module
Summary
by MITRE
Certain input passed into the If-Modified-Since or Last-Modified headers will cause an 'illegal access' exception to be raised. Instead of sending a HTTP 500 error back to the sender, hapi node module before 11.1.3 will continue to hold the socket open until timed out (default node timeout is 2 minutes).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/17/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-9241 affects the hapi node module, a popular web framework for building applications in node.js environments. This issue manifests when specific malformed input is provided in the If-Modified-Since or Last-Modified HTTP headers, which are standard headers used for cache validation and conditional requests. The flaw represents a classic example of improper error handling and resource management, where the application fails to gracefully process invalid input and instead maintains an open connection indefinitely.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from how the hapi framework processes HTTP headers without proper validation or exception handling mechanisms. When malicious or malformed input is received in these headers, the system raises an illegal access exception rather than properly sanitizing the input or returning an appropriate HTTP error code. This exception handling failure creates a denial of service condition where the underlying socket connection remains open and active, consuming system resources and preventing other legitimate requests from being processed. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions prior to 11.1.3, indicating this was a recognized issue that required a patch to address the improper resource management.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant security risk through resource exhaustion and denial of service conditions. The default node.js timeout of two minutes means that each affected connection consumes system resources for an extended period, potentially allowing an attacker to exhaust available connections and render the service unavailable to legitimate users. This behavior aligns with the common attack pattern described in the attack tree framework where improper input handling leads to resource exhaustion. The vulnerability also violates security principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten, particularly the issue of insufficient logging and monitoring, as the system fails to properly log or handle the malformed input.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to include potential system stability issues and resource consumption that could affect other applications running on the same server. Network administrators and security teams must understand that this type of vulnerability can be exploited to create persistent resource exhaustion conditions that are difficult to detect and mitigate. The flaw demonstrates a weakness in the framework's defensive programming practices and highlights the importance of proper input validation and exception handling in web applications. Organizations using affected versions of hapi should immediately implement the patch to version 11.1.3 or later, as recommended by the maintainers, to prevent exploitation of this denial of service condition. The vulnerability also serves as a reminder of the importance of implementing proper security controls and monitoring mechanisms to detect anomalous connection behavior and prevent resource exhaustion attacks.