CVE-2024-52317 in Tomcat
Summary
by MITRE • 11/18/2024
Incorrect object re-cycling and re-use vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. Incorrect recycling of the request and response used by HTTP/2 requests could lead to request and/or response mix-up between users.
This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M23 through 11.0.0-M26, from 10.1.27 through 10.1.30, from 9.0.92 through 9.0.95.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0, 10.1.31 or 9.0.96, which fixes the issue.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-52317 represents a critical object recycling flaw within Apache Tomcat's HTTP/2 implementation that fundamentally compromises request and response isolation between concurrent users. This issue stems from improper handling of object lifecycle management during HTTP/2 connection processing where request and response objects are not correctly reset or cleaned between successive requests. The flaw specifically impacts the server's ability to maintain proper separation between distinct client sessions, creating a scenario where data from one user's request could be inadvertently associated with another user's response, or where request data might be corrupted by previous request state.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-840, which addresses improper control of concurrency and resource access, and more specifically relates to CWE-415, concerning double free errors, though in this case the manifestation is more subtle involving improper object reuse rather than outright memory management errors. The vulnerability manifests when Tomcat processes HTTP/2 requests because the server maintains a pool of reusable request and response objects to optimize performance. However, during the recycling process, the objects are not properly reset to their initial state, leading to potential data leakage, information disclosure, or request/response mix-ups that could result in unauthorized data access or manipulation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security risks for applications deployed on affected Tomcat versions, particularly those handling sensitive user data or transactional information. The attack surface is broad since it affects multiple major release lines including the latest 11.0.x series, 10.1.x series, and 9.0.x series, encompassing a substantial portion of Tomcat deployments across enterprise environments. The vulnerability could enable attackers to access data belonging to other users, potentially leading to session hijacking, cross-site request forgery, or information disclosure attacks where confidential data from one session becomes accessible to another user. This type of vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1595.001, which involves network boundary bridging through protocol manipulation, as the flaw exploits the HTTP/2 protocol implementation to achieve unauthorized access patterns.
The mitigation strategy requires immediate deployment of patched versions including 11.0.0, 10.1.31, or 9.0.96, which contain the necessary fixes to properly reset request and response objects during the recycling process. Organizations should prioritize upgrading their Tomcat installations as a matter of urgency, particularly those running HTTP/2 enabled configurations. Additionally, security teams should implement monitoring for unusual request/response patterns or potential data leakage indicators in their application logs, and consider temporary disabling of HTTP/2 support in affected versions until full patches are deployed. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper object lifecycle management in multi-threaded server environments and underscores the need for comprehensive testing of protocol-specific features to prevent such concurrency-related security flaws from impacting production systems.