CVE-2024-27316 in HTTP Server
Summary
by MITRE • 04/04/2024
HTTP/2 incoming headers exceeding the limit are temporarily buffered in nghttp2 in order to generate an informative HTTP 413 response. If a client does not stop sending headers, this leads to memory exhaustion.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/26/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-27316 represents a critical memory exhaustion flaw within the nghttp2 library implementation of HTTP/2 protocol handling. This issue manifests when HTTP/2 clients attempt to send headers that exceed configured size limits, creating a scenario where the server temporarily buffers these oversized headers to construct an appropriate HTTP 413 response. The fundamental technical flaw lies in the library's inability to properly manage memory allocation during this buffering process, allowing malicious or malformed clients to continuously send oversized header data without proper termination. This behavior directly violates the principle of resource exhaustion prevention that should be inherent in robust network protocol implementations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple resource consumption, as it creates a potential denial of service vector that can be exploited by remote attackers to exhaust system memory resources. When a client maintains an active connection and continues sending headers beyond the configured limits without stopping, the nghttp2 library continues to allocate memory buffers to accommodate these oversized requests. This memory allocation process becomes unbounded and can quickly consume available system resources, leading to system instability, application crashes, or complete service unavailability. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in high-traffic environments where multiple concurrent connections could amplify the memory exhaustion effect, potentially affecting entire server infrastructures.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which specifically addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" or "Resource Exhaustion" in software implementations. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and resource management practices that violate security best practices established in industry standards and frameworks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a resource exhaustion attack technique under the T1499.004 sub-technique, specifically targeting "Resource Exhaustion Flood" where adversaries consume system resources to deny service to legitimate users. The vulnerability represents a critical weakness in the HTTP/2 protocol implementation that can be exploited without requiring authentication or specialized privileges, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where nghttp2 is deployed as a core component of web server infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper connection and header size limits within the nghttp2 configuration, enabling automatic connection termination when header limits are exceeded, and deploying monitoring systems to detect unusual memory consumption patterns. System administrators should consider applying patches or updates to nghttp2 libraries as they become available, while also implementing network-level rate limiting and connection tracking mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments of their HTTP/2 implementations and establish automated alerting systems to detect potential exploitation attempts, ensuring that memory consumption patterns remain within acceptable thresholds to prevent system-wide service degradation.