CVE-2019-11287 in Communications Unified Assurance
Summary
by MITRE
Pivotal RabbitMQ, versions 3.7.x prior to 3.7.21 and 3.8.x prior to 3.8.1, and RabbitMQ for Pivotal Platform, 1.16.x versions prior to 1.16.7 and 1.17.x versions prior to 1.17.4, contain a web management plugin that is vulnerable to a denial of service attack. The "X-Reason" HTTP Header can be leveraged to insert a malicious Erlang format string that will expand and consume the heap, resulting in the server crashing.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-11287 affects Pivotal RabbitMQ messaging systems and represents a critical denial of service weakness in the web management plugin component. This flaw exists in multiple version ranges including 3.7.x versions before 3.7.21, 3.8.x versions before 3.8.1, and specific Pivotal Platform versions 1.16.x before 1.16.7 and 1.17.x before 1.17.4. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the HTTP header processing mechanism, specifically targeting the X-Reason header field that is commonly used for diagnostic purposes in management interfaces.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the X-Reason HTTP header to inject malicious Erlang format strings into the system's processing pipeline. When the web management plugin processes this crafted header, it fails to properly sanitize the input before using it in Erlang's format string operations. This lack of proper sanitization allows an attacker to construct format strings that when processed cause exponential heap expansion, leading to memory exhaustion and eventual system crash. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and demonstrates a classic buffer overflow pattern in Erlang's string handling mechanisms, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited remotely without authentication requirements.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-11287 is severe for organizations relying on RabbitMQ for mission-critical messaging infrastructure. The denial of service condition can result in complete service disruption for messaging queues, potentially affecting thousands of applications that depend on message broker availability. This vulnerability directly violates the availability principle of the CIA triad and can be exploited by attackers to perform service disruption attacks. The impact extends beyond simple downtime as it can affect business continuity, data processing workflows, and overall system reliability. Organizations using affected versions may experience cascading failures in distributed systems where RabbitMQ serves as a core messaging component.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability include immediate patching of affected systems to versions 3.7.21 or later, or 3.8.1 or later, depending on the specific version in use. Organizations should also implement network-level controls to restrict access to the web management plugin ports and consider disabling the plugin entirely if it is not required for operational purposes. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which covers improper validation of input boundaries, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. Additionally, implementing proper input validation mechanisms and regular security assessments can help prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future, as this weakness demonstrates the importance of sanitizing all user-provided data before processing in systems that handle format string operations.