CVE-2020-7622 in Jooby
Summary
by MITRE
All versions of Jooby before 2.2.1 are vulnerable to HTTP Response Splitting. The DefaultHttpHeaders is set to false which means it does not validates that the header isn't being abused for HTTP Response Splitting.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/17/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-7622 affects all versions of the Jooby web framework prior to 2.2.1, presenting a critical security flaw known as HTTP Response Splitting. This vulnerability stems from the DefaultHttpHeaders configuration being set to false, which disables crucial validation mechanisms that would normally prevent header manipulation. The flaw allows attackers to inject malicious headers into HTTP responses, potentially enabling various attack vectors including cross-site scripting, session hijacking, and cache poisoning. HTTP Response Splitting occurs when an attacker can insert carriage return and line feed characters into response headers, causing the server to send multiple HTTP responses in a single connection, thereby breaking the normal HTTP protocol flow and creating opportunities for malicious exploitation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies within Jooby's HTTP header handling mechanism where the framework fails to validate header content against known malicious patterns or control characters. When DefaultHttpHeaders is disabled, the application becomes susceptible to attackers who can inject newline characters such as \r\n or %0d%0a into header values. This lack of input sanitization creates a pathway for attackers to manipulate the HTTP response structure, potentially allowing them to inject additional headers or even craft entirely separate HTTP responses that can be interpreted by browsers or intermediary proxies. The vulnerability specifically targets the framework's default configuration which should enforce strict header validation by default, but instead allows for potentially dangerous header manipulation.
The operational impact of CVE-2020-7622 extends beyond simple header injection, as it can enable sophisticated attack scenarios that compromise user sessions and application integrity. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could manipulate HTTP responses to redirect users to malicious sites, inject malicious JavaScript code into web pages, or manipulate cache behavior in reverse proxies. The vulnerability affects any application built on Jooby versions before 2.2.1 that processes user input through HTTP headers, making it particularly dangerous in applications that rely on user-provided data for header construction. The attack surface is broad as it can be exploited through various input vectors including URL parameters, form submissions, or API endpoints that process user input into HTTP headers, potentially affecting authentication mechanisms, session management, and content delivery.
Organizations using affected Jooby versions should immediately implement mitigation strategies including upgrading to version 2.2.1 or later where the DefaultHttpHeaders validation has been properly enabled. Additional defensive measures include implementing strict input validation at all application layers, particularly for header values that originate from user input, and configuring web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious header patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-113, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1190, which covers exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect unusual header patterns or multiple response splitting attempts, as these indicators may suggest exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and code reviews focusing on HTTP header handling should be conducted to ensure that similar vulnerabilities are not present in other components of the application stack.