CVE-2018-10827 in LiteCart
Summary
by MITRE
LiteCart 2.1.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via URIs that do not exist, because public_html/logs/not_found.log grows without bound, and is loaded into memory for each request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/11/2023
CVE-2018-10827 represents a denial of service vulnerability in LiteCart version 2.1.2 that exploits improper handling of non-existent URI requests. This vulnerability falls under the category of resource exhaustion attacks where malicious actors can consume system resources indefinitely through crafted requests. The flaw manifests when the application encounters URIs that do not exist, causing the system to continuously append entries to the not_found.log file located in the public_html/logs directory. This log file grows without any bounds or rotation mechanisms, leading to uncontrolled disk space consumption and memory exhaustion. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because the application loads this growing log file into memory with each HTTP request, creating a memory leak that progressively degrades system performance until complete service disruption occurs. According to CWE-400, this vulnerability maps to unchecked resource consumption, specifically manifesting as uncontrolled resource consumption in the context of web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this under T1499.004 - Endpoint Denial of Service, where adversaries leverage application-level flaws to exhaust system resources. The technical implementation involves the web application's lack of proper log management and memory handling practices, where the not_found.log file serves as an unbounded data structure that accumulates entries from every failed URI request without any cleanup or size limitations. This creates a cascading effect where each subsequent request consumes more memory, ultimately leading to application instability and complete denial of service. The vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation and resource management practices, where the system fails to implement basic safeguards against malicious request patterns that can be easily exploited by automated tools or manual attackers. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can affect other system processes that depend on available memory and disk space, potentially causing broader system instability. Organizations running LiteCart 2.1.2 should immediately implement log rotation policies and memory management controls to prevent unbounded growth of the not_found.log file. The recommended mitigations include configuring automatic log rotation with size limits, implementing proper resource cleanup mechanisms, and applying the latest security patches from the vendor. Additionally, network-level protections such as rate limiting and request filtering can help prevent exploitation by limiting the number of malformed requests that can be sent to the vulnerable application. This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper resource management in web applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws can lead to significant operational disruptions. The flaw represents a classic example of inadequate defensive programming where the application does not account for malicious or malformed inputs that could be used to exhaust system resources. Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability as part of broader application security assessments, particularly focusing on resource consumption patterns and log management practices. The attack vector is easily exploitable through automated scanning tools that can rapidly generate non-existent URI requests, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in production environments without proper monitoring and mitigation controls. The vulnerability also underscores the need for comprehensive application security testing that includes stress testing under various load conditions to identify potential resource exhaustion scenarios before they can be exploited in real-world attacks.