CVE-2018-3152 in GlassFish Server
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle GlassFish Server component of Oracle Fusion Middleware (subcomponent: Administration). The supported version that is affected is 3.1.2. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle GlassFish Server. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle GlassFish Server. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.5 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3152 resides within Oracle GlassFish Server version 3.1.2, specifically within the Administration subcomponent of Oracle Fusion Middleware. This represents a critical availability-focused weakness that exposes organizations to significant operational risks. The flaw manifests as an easily exploitable vulnerability that requires no authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous for environments where the GlassFish server is accessible over network connections. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple disruption as it enables attackers to cause complete denial of service conditions through either hanging the server or inducing repeatedly repeatable crashes, effectively rendering the service unavailable to legitimate users and applications.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the administration interface of the GlassFish Server, creating an avenue for unauthenticated remote attackers to send malicious HTTP requests that trigger the server's instability. According to the CVSS 3.0 scoring system, this vulnerability carries a base score of 7.5, reflecting its high severity in terms of availability impact. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H) indicates that the attack requires no privileges, minimal access complexity, and can be executed remotely without user interaction, while the impact on availability is rated as high. This classification aligns with CWE-20, which addresses "Improper Input Validation" as the underlying weakness, demonstrating how inadequate validation of user-supplied data can lead to system instability and denial of service conditions.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-3152 extends beyond immediate service disruption to encompass broader business continuity concerns. Organizations relying on GlassFish Server for critical applications face potential revenue loss, customer dissatisfaction, and increased incident response costs when such vulnerabilities are exploited. The vulnerability's accessibility via standard HTTP protocols means that attackers can leverage common scanning tools to identify vulnerable systems, increasing the likelihood of exploitation. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1499.004 for Network Denial of Service and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers can use the availability compromise as a launching point for more sophisticated attacks or as a means to create distraction while executing other malicious activities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-3152 should prioritize immediate patch deployment from Oracle, as the vendor has released security updates specifically addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit direct exposure of GlassFish servers to untrusted networks, while deploying web application firewalls to filter suspicious HTTP requests targeting the administration interface. Additional defensive measures include disabling unnecessary administrative interfaces, implementing strict access controls through firewalls, and monitoring network traffic for anomalous patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in the broader application stack, while incident response procedures should be updated to address potential denial of service scenarios. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect critical middleware infrastructure from unauthorized access and exploitation.