CVE-2017-12174 in Artemis
Summary
by MITRE
It was found that when Artemis and HornetQ before 2.4.0 are configured with UDP discovery and JGroups discovery a huge byte array is created when receiving an unexpected multicast message. This may result in a heap memory exhaustion, full GC, or OutOfMemoryError.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12174 represents a critical memory exhaustion flaw affecting Apache Artemis and HornetQ messaging systems prior to version 2.4.0. This vulnerability specifically manifests when these systems are configured with UDP discovery mechanisms and JGroups discovery protocols, creating a dangerous condition where malformed multicast messages can trigger excessive memory allocation. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and memory management within the discovery protocol implementation, allowing attackers to exploit the system's response to unexpected multicast traffic.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the creation of massive byte arrays when processing unexpected multicast messages within the discovery mechanism. When Artemis or HornetQ receives malformed or unexpected multicast packets, the system's discovery protocol fails to properly validate the incoming data structure, resulting in the allocation of enormous memory buffers to handle what should be simple discovery messages. This behavior directly violates the principle of resource limitation and input validation that forms the foundation of secure system design. The vulnerability maps to CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index and CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, both of which are fundamental weaknesses in memory management and input validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially compromise the entire messaging infrastructure. Heap memory exhaustion caused by this flaw can lead to full garbage collection cycles that severely degrade system performance, or in extreme cases result in OutOfMemoryError conditions that crash the messaging service entirely. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by simply sending malformed multicast messages to the discovery port, requiring minimal technical expertise while achieving significant disruption. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in production environments where messaging systems are critical to business operations, as the attack can be executed remotely without authentication requirements.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Artemis version 2.4.0 or later where this vulnerability has been addressed through improved input validation and memory allocation controls. Additionally, network-level restrictions should be implemented to limit multicast traffic to trusted sources only, and firewall rules should be configured to restrict access to discovery ports from untrusted networks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1499.004: Endpoint Denial of Service, where adversaries leverage system resource exhaustion to disrupt services. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for unusual multicast traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper resource management in distributed systems and the critical need for validating all incoming network data, particularly in discovery and configuration protocols that are often exposed to untrusted network environments.