CVE-2018-13795 in Gravity
Summary
by MITRE
Gravity before 0.5.1 does not support a maximum recursion depth.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-13795 affects the Gravity software version prior to 0.5.1, where the system fails to implement proper maximum recursion depth controls. This represents a critical design flaw in the software's execution engine that can be exploited to cause denial of service conditions and potentially enable arbitrary code execution. The absence of recursion depth limits creates an environment where malicious inputs can trigger infinite recursive calls, leading to system resource exhaustion and application instability.
This vulnerability maps to CWE-674, which specifically addresses the lack of recursion depth control in software implementations. The flaw occurs at the core execution level where the software processes recursive operations without bounds checking, allowing attackers to craft inputs that repeatedly invoke functions or methods without proper termination conditions. The operational impact extends beyond simple denial of service, as the recursive nature can consume all available stack memory and cause the application to crash or behave unpredictably.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network disruption through resource exhaustion. An attacker could exploit this by submitting carefully crafted recursive data structures or function calls that trigger the unlimited recursion behavior. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where Gravity is used for processing untrusted inputs such as user data, configuration files, or API requests. The lack of stack depth monitoring means that even small inputs can trigger massive memory consumption and system instability.
The technical implementation flaw stems from inadequate input validation and execution control mechanisms within the Gravity runtime environment. Proper recursion depth enforcement should be implemented at multiple levels including function call tracking, stack frame management, and execution timeout controls. Organizations using Gravity versions before 0.5.1 should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to the patched version, implementing application-level recursion limits, and deploying monitoring systems to detect unusual execution patterns. Additionally, input sanitization measures and rate limiting should be enforced to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability in production environments.