CVE-2025-24783 in Cocoon
Summary
by MITRE • 01/27/2025
Incorrect Usage of Seeds in Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) vulnerability in Apache Cocoon.
This issue affects Apache Cocoon: all versions.
When a continuation is created, it gets a random identifier. Because the random number generator used to generate these identifiers was seeded with the startup time, it may not have been sufficiently unpredictable, and an attacker could use this to guess continuation ids and look up continuations they should not have had access to.
As a mitigation, you may enable the "session-bound-continuations" option to make sure continuations are not shared across sessions.
As this project is retired, we do not plan to release a version that fixes this issue. Users are recommended to find an alternative or restrict access to the instance to trusted users.
NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2025
The vulnerability CVE-2025-24783 represents a critical weakness in Apache Cocoon's pseudo-random number generation mechanism that directly impacts the security of continuation identifiers. This flaw resides in the core architectural component responsible for managing application state across HTTP requests, specifically within the continuation system that allows web applications to maintain conversational state. The vulnerability stems from the improper seeding of the random number generator used to create unique identifiers for continuation objects, creating predictable patterns that can be exploited by malicious actors.
The technical implementation flaw occurs when the system generates random identifiers for continuations by seeding the pseudo-random number generator with startup time information. This approach violates fundamental security principles for cryptographic randomness, as timestamps are inherently predictable and can be easily guessed or enumerated by attackers. The vulnerability falls under CWE-330, which specifically addresses the use of insufficiently random values in security contexts, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1212 focused on exploitation of software vulnerabilities. The predictable seeding mechanism creates a direct attack surface where adversaries can reconstruct continuation identifiers through brute force or pattern analysis, potentially gaining unauthorized access to continuation objects that should be restricted to legitimate users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables privilege escalation and session hijacking attacks. An attacker who successfully guesses continuation identifiers can access continuation objects belonging to other users, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification of application state, or even complete session takeover. The vulnerability particularly affects web applications that rely heavily on Apache Cocoon's continuation-based state management, where the continuation system is used to maintain complex user workflows and multi-step processes. This represents a significant risk in applications handling sensitive data or requiring strict access controls, as the vulnerability undermines the fundamental security model of session isolation and user authentication.
The recommended mitigation strategy of enabling "session-bound-continuations" provides a partial defense mechanism by tying continuation identifiers to specific user sessions, thereby limiting the scope of potential attacks. However, this approach does not fully address the underlying PRNG seeding issue and represents a workaround rather than a complete solution. Organizations should consider implementing additional security controls such as rate limiting, access logging, and network segmentation to minimize the attack surface. The vulnerability's classification as affecting all versions of Apache Cocoon indicates a fundamental design flaw that cannot be easily patched due to the project's retirement status, making this a critical consideration for legacy system administrators who must weigh the risks against the operational necessity of maintaining these systems.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the importance of proper random number generation in security-sensitive applications and demonstrate how seemingly minor implementation details can create significant security weaknesses. The issue serves as a reminder of the critical need for cryptographic best practices, particularly around entropy sources and random seed generation, in web application frameworks. Given that Apache Cocoon is no longer maintained, users face a difficult choice between continuing to use a vulnerable system with limited security controls or migrating to supported alternatives that implement proper security measures. This vulnerability exemplifies the risks associated with legacy system maintenance and the importance of thorough security assessments when relying on retired software components.