CVE-2024-50574 in YouTrack
Summary
by MITRE • 10/28/2024
In JetBrains YouTrack before 2024.3.47707 potential ReDoS exploit was possible via email header parsing in Helpdesk functionality
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-50574 represents a regular expression denial of service flaw affecting JetBrains YouTrack versions prior to 2024.3.47707. This issue specifically manifests within the Helpdesk functionality when processing email headers, creating a potential attack vector that could disrupt system operations through carefully crafted malicious input. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of email header data during the parsing process, allowing adversaries to exploit malformed input patterns that cause excessive backtracking in regular expression engines.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the use of regular expressions that are susceptible to catastrophic backtracking when processing untrusted email header content. When the Helpdesk module receives email communications, it parses various header fields including From, To, Subject, and others to extract relevant information for ticket creation and management. The flaw occurs when these parsing routines encounter specially crafted header values that trigger exponential execution time in the regular expression matching algorithms. This behavior aligns with the common characteristics of ReDoS vulnerabilities as classified under CWE-1321, which specifically addresses regular expression denial of service conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enable more sophisticated attack scenarios within the YouTrack environment. An attacker could exploit this weakness to consume excessive system resources through repeated processing of malicious email headers, leading to performance degradation or complete service unavailability. The vulnerability affects the core Helpdesk functionality which serves as a primary interface for user interactions and ticket management, making it particularly concerning for organizations that rely heavily on email-based ticket submission. The attack surface is broad as it affects any email integration within the system, potentially allowing attackers to target the platform through email channels without requiring direct system access or authentication.
Organizations utilizing JetBrains YouTrack should prioritize immediate patching to version 2024.3.47707 or later to remediate this vulnerability. The mitigation strategy should also include implementing additional input validation layers and monitoring for unusual processing patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should consider deploying network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for patterns consistent with ReDoS attacks and establish logging mechanisms that track email header parsing activities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation and proper sanitization of external data sources, particularly in web applications that process user-provided content through regular expression engines. Organizations should also review their email integration workflows and implement rate limiting mechanisms to prevent abuse of the Helpdesk functionality while maintaining operational efficiency. This vulnerability reinforces the need for comprehensive security testing including fuzzing and input validation reviews as part of the software development lifecycle to prevent similar issues from emerging in production environments.