CVE-2021-36044 in Magento Commerce
Summary
by MITRE • 09/01/2021
Magento Commerce versions 2.4.2 (and earlier), 2.4.2-p1 (and earlier) and 2.3.7 (and earlier) are affected by an improper input validation vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could abuse this vulnerability to cause a server-side denial-of-service using a GraphQL field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/08/2025
This vulnerability exists within Magento Commerce platforms where improper input validation allows for server-side denial-of-service attacks through GraphQL endpoints. The flaw affects specific versions including 2.4.2 and earlier, 2.4.2-p1 and earlier, as well as 2.3.7 and earlier releases, making it a widespread issue across multiple product lines. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of GraphQL field inputs, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's processing mechanisms without requiring authentication credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the GraphQL query processing system failing to properly validate the structure and content of incoming field requests. When an attacker submits a crafted GraphQL query containing malformed or excessively complex field parameters, the Magento Commerce server processes these inputs without adequate safeguards. This processing behavior can lead to resource exhaustion, infinite loops, or other conditions that consume excessive computational resources and ultimately result in service unavailability.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to e-commerce platforms that rely on Magento Commerce for their online operations. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that any external party can potentially exploit this weakness without requiring prior access credentials, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible systems. The server-side denial-of-service condition can effectively shut down e-commerce operations, resulting in revenue loss, customer dissatisfaction, and potential damage to brand reputation. Organizations may experience complete service interruption during attack periods, with recovery requiring system restarts or manual intervention to clear the resource exhaustion conditions.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which addresses improper input validation, and represents a classic example of how insufficient validation can lead to resource exhaustion attacks. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1499.004 technique related to network denial of service attacks, where adversaries leverage application-level weaknesses to consume system resources. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches, implementing rate limiting on GraphQL endpoints, and monitoring for unusual query patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, network-level protections such as web application firewalls and API gateways can provide additional layers of defense against these types of attacks.