As cybersecurity becomes an increasingly critical component of modern technology, it is essential to be aware of vulnerabilities that could potentially compromise the security of your applications and systems. This post will focus on a recently discovered vulnerability, CVE-2023-22799, which affects the GlobalID software package and poses a significant risk to users running any version below 1..1.
CVE-2023-22799 is a ReDoS (Regular expression Denial of Service) based DoS (Denial of Service) vulnerability. Specifically, it enables an attacker to exploit the regular expression engine's behavior in the GlobalID software by supplying a carefully crafted input, causing the engine to take an unexpectedly long time to process. Users running affected releases are advised to upgrade or apply one of the recommended workarounds as soon as possible to mitigate this vulnerability.
Exploit details
The exploit allows an attacker to disrupt the regular expression engine by taking advantage of the engine's backtracking mechanism. When the engine processes a regular expression matching operation, it may backtrack or revert to previous states to find a match. Some regular expressions require extensive backtracking, which can cause an application to stall or even crash.
Affected GlobalID versions are prone to this vulnerability when the provided input conforms to a specific pattern that results in an exponential increase in processing time. This can cause a potentially significant delay in the application's response or lead to a complete denial of service.
Here's an example of a regular expression that could be exploited in affected GlobalID versions
globalid_pattern = /^(G|g)\d+(\s+|(?![_\W])(?<=M|\d))(\d{3}|\d{2}|\d{5}|\d{6})(.*)/;
A malicious input for this regular expression might look like this
G1234-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=...
The vulnerability lies in the regular expression engine's inability to differentiate between the repetitions of the hyphen ("-") and equal sign ("=") characters, causing it to backtrack repeatedly and prolong the processing time exponentially.
You can find more information about the CVE-2023-22799 vulnerability in the following references
1. CVE Details - CVE-2023-22799
2. NVD - CVE-2023-22799
Mitigations and workarounds
All users running GlobalID versions earlier than 1..1 are strongly recommended to upgrade to the latest version, which addresses this vulnerability. To do so, simply download the latest release from GlobalID's official GitHub repository: GlobalID v1..1
However, if upgrading is not feasible, consider applying one of these workarounds
1. Adjust the regular expression pattern to ensure it does not allow excessive backtracking, such as by eliminating unnecessary repetitions or adding more specific constraints.
2. Use a dedicated regular expression library that has built-in protection against ReDoS attacks, like RE2 (Regular Expression Library for C and C++), which limits the number of backtracks in its engine.
Conclusion
CVE-2023-22799 is a critical vulnerability that poses significant risks to those running affected GlobalID versions. By understanding the vulnerability's details, users can take proactive steps to avoid potential disruptions and secure their applications. Be sure to either upgrade your GlobalID version or apply an appropriate workaround to protect your systems.
Timeline
Published on: 02/09/2023 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 02/16/2023 20:18:00 UTC