CVE-2023-41705 in OX App Suite
Summary
by MITRE • 02/12/2024
Processing of user-defined DAV user-agent strings is not limited. Availability of OX App Suite could be reduced due to high processing load. Please deploy the provided updates and patch releases. Processing time of DAV user-agents now gets monitored, and the related request is terminated if a resource threshold is reached. No publicly available exploits are known.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-41705 affects the OX App Suite platform and relates to improper handling of DAV user-agent strings during processing operations. This issue stems from the absence of proper input validation and resource limiting mechanisms when processing user-defined DAV user-agent identifiers. The flaw exists within the web application's request handling logic where it fails to impose reasonable constraints on the processing time and resource consumption associated with DAV user-agent string operations. According to CWE-770, this vulnerability manifests as an insufficient resource management problem where the system does not adequately control resource allocation for user-provided input data. The vulnerability creates a potential denial of service condition by allowing malicious actors to submit excessively long or complex user-agent strings that can cause the system to consume disproportionate processing resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the lack of input sanitization and resource monitoring by crafting specially formatted DAV user-agent strings that trigger prolonged processing times. When the OX App Suite processes these malformed strings, the system's CPU and memory resources become consumed at an excessive rate, leading to degraded performance or complete service unavailability. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be classified under ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. The system's failure to implement rate limiting or processing time thresholds for user-agent string operations creates an attack surface where resource exhaustion can occur through simple input manipulation. The absence of monitoring for processing duration and resource consumption means that the system cannot detect or terminate requests that exceed acceptable processing parameters.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-41705 extends beyond simple performance degradation to potentially complete system unavailability within the OX App Suite environment. Organizations relying on this platform may experience service interruptions that affect email, calendar, and collaboration functionality for multiple users simultaneously. The vulnerability's effect is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where the platform serves as a critical communication infrastructure. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform sustained resource exhaustion attacks that may require system restarts or manual intervention to resolve. The lack of publicly available exploits does not diminish the severity of the vulnerability, as the conditions for exploitation are relatively straightforward and the impact is significant enough to warrant immediate remediation. The vulnerability affects the availability aspect of the CIA triad and represents a clear violation of system reliability requirements.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-41705 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and resource monitoring for DAV user-agent strings. System administrators should deploy the provided patches and updates that introduce processing time monitoring and automatic request termination when resource thresholds are exceeded. The solution involves establishing maximum processing time limits for user-agent string operations and implementing memory usage controls to prevent excessive resource consumption. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as request rate limiting and input length restrictions for DAV user-agent headers. The patch addresses the root cause by introducing proper resource management controls that align with industry best practices for preventing denial of service attacks. Security teams should monitor system logs for unusual processing patterns and establish alerting mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts. The fix demonstrates adherence to security principles that emphasize defense in depth and proactive resource management to prevent system-level failures.