CVE-2022-1941 in MySQL Connectors
Summary
by MITRE • 09/22/2022
A parsing vulnerability for the MessageSet type in the ProtocolBuffers versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1 and 3.21.5 for protobuf-cpp, and versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1 and 4.21.5 for protobuf-python can lead to out of memory failures. A specially crafted message with multiple key-value per elements creates parsing issues, and can lead to a Denial of Service against services receiving unsanitized input. We recommend upgrading to versions 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, 3.21.6 for protobuf-cpp and 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, 4.21.6 for protobuf-python. Versions for 3.16 and 3.17 are no longer updated.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-1941 represents a critical parsing flaw within Google's Protocol Buffers implementation that affects multiple versions of both protobuf-cpp and protobuf-python libraries. This issue stems from improper handling of MessageSet type parsing operations where maliciously crafted input can trigger excessive memory consumption during the parsing process. The vulnerability manifests when processing messages containing multiple key-value pairs per element, creating a scenario where the parser allocates memory in a manner that can quickly exhaust available system resources. The flaw exists in versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1, and 3.21.5 for the cpp implementation, as well as corresponding versions for the python implementation, making it a widespread concern across numerous applications that rely on protobuf serialization.
The technical nature of this vulnerability can be categorized under CWE-400, which specifically addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" or "Resource Exhaustion" conditions. When a service processes unsanitized input through the affected protobuf libraries, the MessageSet parser enters a state where it continuously allocates memory without proper bounds checking or resource limiting mechanisms. This particular parsing issue exploits the structure of MessageSet types where multiple key-value pairs are processed in a way that causes exponential memory allocation patterns. The parser fails to implement adequate safeguards against malformed input that could cause it to consume memory at rates that far exceed normal operational requirements, leading to system instability and potential service interruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially compromise entire application availability and system stability. Services that receive unsanitized input from untrusted sources become vulnerable to attacks where adversaries can craft specific protobuf messages designed to trigger the memory exhaustion behavior. This creates a significant risk for applications that process user-generated content, network communications, or any data streams that might contain maliciously constructed protobuf messages. The vulnerability affects systems that rely heavily on protobuf for inter-service communication, data storage, or network protocols, making it particularly dangerous in distributed systems where a single compromised service could potentially impact the entire infrastructure. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform resource exhaustion attacks that cause applications to crash or become unresponsive, effectively creating a denial of service condition that can persist until the affected service is manually restarted or the system resources are reclaimed.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-1941 focus primarily on upgrading to the patched versions recommended by Google's Protocol Buffers team. Organizations should immediately upgrade their protobuf-cpp implementations to versions 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, or 3.21.6, while protobuf-python installations should move to versions 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, or 4.21.6. These patched versions include enhanced memory management controls and bounds checking mechanisms that prevent the excessive allocation patterns that lead to out of memory failures. Additionally, system administrators should implement input validation measures at the application level to sanitize all protobuf messages before processing, particularly for services that receive data from untrusted sources. The affected versions 3.16 and 3.17 are no longer supported and should be immediately deprecated from production environments, as they do not receive security updates. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring and alerting systems to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, following ATT&CK framework techniques related to resource exhaustion and denial of service attacks.