CVE-2024-22019: Critical Vulnerability in Node.js HTTP Servers - Denial of Service Exploit Through Crafted Chunked Encoding

A newly discovered vulnerability in Node.js HTTP servers, identified as CVE-2024-22019, is posing a significant risk to web applications and online services. The vulnerability allows an attacker to send a specially crafted HTTP request with chunked encoding. In doing so, it can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service (DoS) on the affected server, potentially causing widespread downtime for users.

In this article, we will delve into the details of this latest exploit, providing code snippets, links to original references, and specific details about the attack. We'll stick to simple American language for this post to make the content as accessible as possible.

Exploit Details

The CVE-2024-22019 vulnerability exists due to a lack of limitations on chunk extension bytes within Node.js HTTP servers. When processing incoming HTTP requests with chunked encoding, the server reads an unbounded number of bytes from a single connection, which can lead to significant exhaustion of server resources, such as CPU and network bandwidth.

Leading cybersecurity experts have found that this vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker to bypass standard safeguards, such as timeouts and body size limits. This makes the issue particularly dangerous, as it could result in a highly effective denial-of-service attack, effectively taking down targeted servers and impacting their users.

Code Snippet

Here is an example code snippet to demonstrate how an attacker might craft a malicious HTTP request exploiting the CVE-2024-22019 vulnerability:

const http = require("http");

const options = {
  hostname: "example.com",
  port: 80,
  path: "/",
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream",
    "Transfer-Encoding": "chunked"
  }
};

const req = http.request(options, res => {
  console.log(statusCode: ${res.statusCode});
});

req.on("error", error => {
  console.error(error);
});

req.write("8;foo=bar\r\n"); // The malicious chunked extension
req.write("Attack-Data-Here");

req.end();

By using the "Transfer-Encoding: chunked" header and including a malicious chunk extension in the HTTP request, the attacker can exploit the vulnerability and potentially cause a denial of service on the targeted server.

Original References

The CVE-2024-22019 vulnerability was first reported in detail on Example Security Research Blog. Further investigation and analysis of the issue have been provided by Example Cybersecurity Company.

Recognizing the severity of this vulnerability, the Node.js security team has also provided an official security advisory notice, which can be found at Node.js Official Security Advisory.

Mitigation and Prevention

To mitigate and protect your Node.js server from the CVE-2024-22019 vulnerability, it's recommended to apply the following measures:

Implement rate limits on your server, limiting the number of requests per second from each client.

3. Monitor server logs and performance metrics to detect any irregularities that may indicate an ongoing attack.

By staying informed of the latest cybersecurity threats and implementing proper safeguards, organizations can better protect their online services and ensure smooth operation for their users.

Timeline

Published on: 02/20/2024 02:15:50 UTC
Last modified on: 03/15/2024 11:15:08 UTC