CVE-2024-28053 in Mattermost
Summary
by MITRE • 03/15/2024
Resource Exhaustion in Mattermost Server versions 8.1.x before 8.1.10 fails to limit the size of the payload that can be read and parsed allowing an attacker to send a very large email payload and crash the server.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/13/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-28053 represents a critical resource exhaustion flaw within Mattermost Server versions 8.1.x prior to 8.1.10. This issue stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to impose reasonable limits on email payload sizes during the parsing process. The vulnerability specifically affects the server's handling of incoming email data, creating a condition where malicious actors can exploit the lack of size constraints to overwhelm system resources through carefully crafted oversized email messages.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs at the email processing layer where Mattermost servers attempt to parse incoming email payloads without adequate size restrictions. When an attacker sends an oversized email message, the server allocates memory resources to process the entire payload regardless of its size. This unbounded memory allocation leads to excessive resource consumption, ultimately causing the server to become unresponsive or crash entirely. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be classified under CWE-400 as "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" with specific implications for denial of service conditions.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to organizations relying on Mattermost for team communication and collaboration. The resource exhaustion can result in complete service disruption, affecting thousands of users simultaneously and potentially causing data loss or communication breakdowns during critical operations. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability with minimal technical expertise by simply sending oversized email messages, making it particularly dangerous in environments where email integration is enabled. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as it can affect the availability of critical communication channels within enterprise environments.
The vulnerability demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 "Resource Hijacking" where adversaries consume system resources to compromise availability. Organizations implementing Mattermost servers should prioritize immediate patching to version 8.1.10 or later, as this release contains the necessary mitigations to enforce payload size limits. Additional defensive measures include implementing email filtering rules that limit attachment sizes, configuring rate limiting for email processing, and monitoring for unusual resource consumption patterns. Network-level controls such as intrusion detection systems can help identify potential exploitation attempts by monitoring for unusually large email payloads. The remediation strategy should also include regular security assessments to ensure that similar input validation gaps do not exist in other components of the communication infrastructure, as this vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing proper resource limits and input sanitization practices across all application components.