CVE-2022-2074 in Deploy
Summary
by MITRE • 08/19/2022
In affected versions of Octopus Deploy it is possible to perform a Regex Denial of Service using the Variable Project Template.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-2074 represents a significant security flaw within Octopus Deploy software versions that enables malicious actors to exploit a Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) condition through the Variable Project Template functionality. This issue arises when the application processes user-supplied input containing specially crafted regular expressions that cause excessive backtracking during pattern matching operations. The vulnerability specifically affects the variable template parsing mechanism where Octopus Deploy validates and processes variable expressions before deployment execution.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's reliance on regular expressions for validating variable syntax and patterns within project templates. When an attacker submits a malformed variable expression containing a malicious regex pattern, the system's regex engine becomes susceptible to catastrophic backtracking behavior. This occurs because certain regex patterns can cause the matching engine to explore an exponential number of possible execution paths, leading to substantial CPU resource consumption and eventual system unresponsiveness. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 which specifically addresses regex denial of service conditions in software applications.
Operational impact of CVE-2022-2074 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire deployment infrastructure. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform resource exhaustion attacks that consume excessive computational resources, leading to denial of service for legitimate users attempting to access or modify project templates. The attack surface is particularly concerning within continuous integration and deployment environments where Octopus Deploy serves as a critical component for automating software releases. This vulnerability can be exploited by unauthorized users with access to the variable template functionality, potentially allowing them to disrupt deployment workflows and compromise the availability of the entire platform. The impact aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks targeting application availability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-2074 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Octopus Deploy versions to address the underlying regex processing logic. Organizations should implement input validation and sanitization measures that restrict the complexity and length of regex patterns accepted by the system. Network-level protections such as rate limiting and resource monitoring can provide additional defense-in-depth measures to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing automated scanning for malicious regex patterns and establish monitoring protocols to identify unusual CPU consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The fix typically involves updating the regex engine configuration to limit backtracking or implementing bounded regex matching algorithms that prevent exponential execution paths. Additionally, administrators should review and restrict user permissions for variable template modifications to minimize potential attack vectors while maintaining operational functionality.