CVE-2019-2986 in GraalVM Enterprise Edition
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle GraalVM (component: LLVM Interpreter). The supported version that is affected is 19.2.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition. While the vulnerability is in Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.7 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2986 resides within Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition's LLVM Interpreter component, representing a critical availability risk that can be exploited by low-privileged attackers with network access. This vulnerability affects Oracle GraalVM version 19.2.0 and demonstrates characteristics of an easily exploitable flaw that can lead to complete denial of service conditions. The CVSS 3.0 scoring system rates this vulnerability at 7.7 out of 10, with the availability impact component receiving the highest weight, indicating that successful exploitation can result in sustained system unavailability or frequent crashes that effectively render the system inoperable. The attack vector is classified as network-based with low access complexity and requiring only low privileges, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by attackers who may not possess elevated system permissions.
The technical flaw manifests within the LLVM Interpreter implementation of GraalVM, which serves as a critical component for executing code in the enterprise edition environment. This interpreter processes and executes code compiled from various source languages through the GraalVM framework, and the vulnerability specifically targets this execution layer. The flaw allows attackers to craft malicious inputs that trigger memory corruption or execution flow manipulation within the interpreter, leading to system instability. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability would likely map to CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, or potentially CWE-119, which encompasses memory corruption vulnerabilities. The attack surface extends beyond the immediate GraalVM component as noted in the vulnerability description, since attacks can significantly impact additional products that may be integrated with or dependent on the affected system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, particularly given its potential to cause complete denial of service conditions. When exploited successfully, the vulnerability can result in either system hangs that require manual intervention to resolve or frequent repeatable crashes that can be used to maintain sustained disruption of service. The availability impact is rated as high (A:H) in the CVSS vector, indicating that the vulnerability can completely disable the affected system or make it unusable for legitimate users. Organizations that rely on GraalVM Enterprise Edition for mission-critical applications face significant risk of business disruption, particularly in environments where continuous availability is essential. The vulnerability's ability to affect additional products suggests cascading effects that could extend beyond the immediate system boundaries, potentially impacting connected applications or services that depend on the stable operation of GraalVM.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-2986 should prioritize immediate patching and updating of affected Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition installations to version 19.3.0 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of GraalVM instances to untrusted networks, reducing the attack surface available to potential adversaries. Monitoring and logging configurations should be enhanced to detect anomalous behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly around code execution and memory manipulation activities. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as T1499.004 for endpoint denial of service and T1059.007 for scripting languages, as attackers may leverage the LLVM interpreter's capabilities to execute malicious code. Additionally, implementing runtime application self-protection measures and code integrity checks can provide defense-in-depth approaches to prevent exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining instances of the vulnerable version within the organization's infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive remediation across all affected systems.