IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition is a popular platform used by developers globally for enterprise-level software solutions. Recently, a serious security vulnerability categorized as CVE-2024-27267 has been discovered in the Object Request Broker (ORB) of IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, versions 7.1.. through 7.1. race condition in the management of ORB listener threads5.18 and 8... through 8..8.26. IBM X-Force ID: 284573. This vulnerability puts systems at risk to possible remote denial of service attacks. In this post, we will discuss this vulnerability in detail and provide links to original references and steps to mitigate this threat.

Exploit Details

This vulnerability originates from a race condition in the management of ORB listener threads, which could potentially lead to remote denial of service (DOS) attacks. A race condition is a situation in which the behavior of software depends on the relative timing of events, such as the order in which threads are scheduled to run. In the context of ORB, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause the affected system to become unresponsive or crash, resulting in a denial-of-service condition.

The following code snippet illustrates the potential race condition in the ORB listener threads

public class ORBThreadManagement {
    private ConcurrentHashMap<ActiveThread, Object> activeThreads = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();

    public void addThread(ActiveThread activeThread) {
        activeThreads.put(activeThread, new Object());
    }

    public void removeThread(ActiveThread activeThread) {
        activeThreads.remove(activeThread);
    }

    // Potential race condition vulnerability
    public void waitForThreadsToComplete() throws InterruptedException {
        for (ActiveThread activeThread : activeThreads.keySet()) {
            activeThread.join();
        }
    }
}

In the waitForThreadsToComplete() method, the code iterates over the activeThreads map and joins each thread in the map. This operation can potentially lead to a race condition when another thread removes an item from the map while it is being iterated over, causing a concurrent modification exception and potentially leading to remote denial of service attacks.

Original References

1. IBM X-Force Advisory
2. National Vulnerability Database (NVD)

Mitigation Steps

To remediate this vulnerability, users of affected versions of IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition should upgrade to the latest available version:

For IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition Version 8, upgrade to 8..8.27 or later (if available).

IBM has also provided a patch update which users can download and apply to their systems to fix the vulnerability.

Furthermore, developers should be cautious when writing multi-threaded code and should aim to avoid race conditions in their implementation. Always strive to adopt industry-standard secure coding practices.

Conclusion

CVE-2024-27267 is a critical vulnerability in the IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, which could be exploited by remote attackers to launch denial-of-service attacks. It is essential for users of the affected software versions to take necessary precautions, including upgrading to the latest available version and applying the provided patch update. Additionally, developers should adopt secure coding practices to prevent vulnerabilities like this from occurring in the future.

Timeline

Published on: 08/14/2024 16:15:10 UTC
Last modified on: 08/14/2024 17:49:14 UTC