CVE-2022-24863 in http-swagger
Summary
by MITRE • 04/18/2022
http-swagger is an open source wrapper to automatically generate RESTful API documentation with Swagger 2.0. In versions of http-swagger prior to 1.2.6 an attacker may perform a denial of service attack consisting of memory exhaustion on the host system. The cause of the memory exhaustion is down to improper handling of http methods. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may to restrict the path prefix to the "GET" method as a workaround.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-24863 affects the http-swagger open source library, which serves as a wrapper for automatically generating RESTful API documentation using Swagger 2.0 specifications. This tool is widely utilized in enterprise environments for API documentation automation, making it a critical component in many development and deployment pipelines. The issue stems from improper handling of HTTP methods within the library's processing logic, creating a potential vector for denial of service attacks that can lead to system resource exhaustion. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions prior to 1.2.6, leaving users of older iterations exposed to memory exhaustion attacks that can severely impact system availability and performance.
The technical flaw manifests in how the http-swagger library processes HTTP methods during API documentation generation. When the library receives requests with certain HTTP methods, it fails to properly validate or limit the processing of these requests, leading to excessive memory consumption. This improper handling creates a condition where an attacker can craft malicious requests that cause the library to allocate memory resources without proper bounds, eventually exhausting available memory on the host system. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 as an Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability, which represents a common pattern in software where resource allocation lacks proper limits or validation mechanisms. The memory exhaustion occurs during the request processing phase, where the library's internal state management fails to properly handle method-specific request processing, leading to unbounded memory growth.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise entire system availability. When an attacker successfully exploits this memory exhaustion vulnerability, the affected system may experience complete service unavailability, application crashes, or degraded performance that affects legitimate users. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires minimal privileges to execute and can be automated, making it an attractive target for malicious actors seeking to disrupt services. The vulnerability affects systems that rely on http-swagger for API documentation generation, which includes numerous enterprise applications, microservices architectures, and API gateways that utilize this library for automated documentation. Organizations using this library in production environments face significant risk as the memory exhaustion can lead to cascading failures across dependent services and systems, particularly in containerized environments where memory limits are strictly enforced.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate upgrade to version 1.2.6 or later, which includes proper bounds checking and resource management for HTTP method handling. Organizations unable to perform immediate upgrades should implement the recommended workaround of restricting the path prefix to only the "GET" method, effectively limiting the attack surface by preventing other HTTP methods from triggering the memory exhaustion condition. Additional defensive measures include implementing rate limiting controls, monitoring memory usage patterns, and configuring appropriate resource limits for processes utilizing the library. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit who can submit requests to the affected API endpoints. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1499.004 technique for Network Denial of Service, and organizations should implement proper input validation and resource management controls to prevent exploitation. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the upgraded version to ensure that legitimate functionality remains intact while addressing the memory exhaustion vulnerability.