CVE-2017-11468 in Docker
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2023
Docker Registry before 2.6.2 in Docker Distribution does not properly restrict the amount of content accepted from a user, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via the manifest endpoint.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-11468 affects Docker Registry versions prior to 2.6.2 within the Docker Distribution project, representing a critical denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely. This flaw resides in the manifest endpoint handling mechanism where the system fails to adequately validate and limit the size of content submitted by users, creating an avenue for malicious actors to consume excessive system resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and content restriction mechanisms within the Docker Registry's manifest processing logic. When a malicious user submits a specially crafted manifest payload to the registry's endpoint, the system accepts and processes the content without proper size limitations or validation checks. This allows attackers to upload manifests that are disproportionately large relative to normal usage patterns, causing the registry service to consume excessive memory resources until system stability is compromised.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against Docker Registry instances, potentially leading to complete service unavailability and system instability. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the memory consumption can cascade into broader system performance degradation, affecting other applications and services running on the same infrastructure. Organizations relying on Docker Registry for container image management face significant operational risk when exposed to this vulnerability, particularly in environments where registry availability is critical for deployment pipelines and application delivery.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-770, which addresses the allocation of resources without proper limits or controls, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations should immediately upgrade to Docker Registry version 2.6.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as the fix implements proper content size validation and memory consumption limits for manifest uploads. Additional mitigations include implementing network-level restrictions, monitoring for unusual manifest upload patterns, and configuring appropriate resource limits for registry containers to prevent complete service exhaustion. Security teams should also consider implementing automated alerts for registry memory usage spikes and establish incident response procedures to address potential exploitation attempts.