CVE-2024-58380 in PocketMine-MP
Summary
by MITRE • 09/09/2026
PocketMine-MP versions before 5.11.2 contain a denial of service vulnerability in BookEditPacket handling that crashes the server when an invalid inventory slot value is provided. Attackers can send a crafted BookEditPacket with an inventory slot greater than 35 to trigger an unhandled exception and crash the server.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/09/2026
The PocketMine-MP software, a widely used PHP-based Minecraft server implementation, contains a critical denial of service vulnerability in its handling of book editing packets prior to version 5.11.2. This flaw resides within the packet processing logic responsible for managing player interactions with books and quills on the game server. The specific weakness is triggered when a client sends a BookEditPacket containing an inventory slot index that exceeds the valid range, specifically any value greater than thirty-five. In standard Minecraft mechanics, the hotbar and main inventory typically consist of thirty-six slots indexed from zero to thirty-five. When the server receives a packet with an out-of-bounds index, it fails to perform adequate boundary checks before attempting to access or manipulate the corresponding data structure in memory.
This lack of input validation leads directly to an unhandled exception within the PHP runtime environment. Because PocketMine-MP relies on PHP for its core logic, encountering such an invalid array offset results in a fatal error that terminates the script execution immediately. Consequently, this allows any remote attacker with network access to the server to cause a complete service outage by simply sending one crafted packet. The impact is severe as it requires no authentication or prior interaction with other game systems, making it a straightforward vector for disrupting availability. This aligns with CWE-20 Improper Input Validation and CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write if the underlying implementation attempts to write data based on this invalid index, though in PHP contexts it typically manifests as an uncaught exception leading to process termination.
From a threat intelligence perspective, this vulnerability maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service, specifically under the sub-technique for application exhaustion or crash via malformed input. Attackers can exploit this flaw during peak usage times to maximize disruption impact without needing elevated privileges within the game world itself. The simplicity of the attack vector means that automated scanning tools could easily identify and target vulnerable instances across the internet, leading to widespread instability in communities relying on PocketMine-MP for their multiplayer experiences.
To mitigate this risk, server administrators must upgrade immediately to version 5.11.2 or any later release where the packet handling logic has been patched with proper range validation checks. Until an update is applied, operators can implement network-level filtering rules using firewall configurations or proxy servers like BungeeCord or Velocity if applicable, though direct connection mitigation remains limited without server-side code changes. It is also advisable to monitor server logs for repeated crash reports associated with BookEditPacket processing as a detection mechanism for ongoing exploitation attempts. Ensuring that all plugins and core components are updated regularly helps maintain the integrity of the game environment against similar input validation flaws in other packet types.