A recent vulnerability, identified as CVE-2024-52046, has been discovered in the ObjectSerializationDecoder component of the Apache MINA core library. This vulnerability occurs due to the lack of proper security checks during the deserialization process, potentially allowing attackers to send malicious serialized data and execute remote code on the affected system.
In this post, we will take a closer look at the details of this vulnerability, provide code snippets for better understanding, and offer guidance on how to protect your system from potential attacks.
2.2.4
If you are using any of the affected versions, you are advised to upgrade to the latest release.
Original References
For a complete understanding of the vulnerability, you may refer to the original disclosure by Apache:
Apache MINA Announcement
Apache MINA GitHub Repository
Exploit Details
The vulnerability lies in the IoBuffer#getObject() method, which is potentially called when adding a ProtocolCodecFilter instance using the ObjectSerializationCodecFactory class in the filter chain. The following code snippet illustrates this:
ProtocolCodecFilter filter = new ProtocolCodecFilter(new ObjectSerializationCodecFactory());
To mitigate the risk of exploitation, you should upgrade to the latest version of the Apache MINA core library and explicitly allow the classes that the decoder will accept in the ObjectSerializationDecoder instance. You can do this using one of the three new methods provided:
public void accept(ClassNameMatcher classNameMatcher)
public void accept(Pattern pattern)
public void accept(String... patterns)
By default, the decoder will reject all classes present in the incoming data after upgrading.
Example
To protect your application, you can modify your code to accept only specific classes using one of the new methods provided:
ObjectSerializationDecoder decoder = new ObjectSerializationDecoder();
decoder.accept(MySafeClass1.class.getName());
decoder.accept(MySafeClass2.class.getName());
Conclusion
The discovery of CVE-2024-52046 highlights the importance of proper security checks during the deserialization process. By upgrading to the latest version of Apache MINA core library and explicitly allowing only trusted classes during deserialization, developers can mitigate the risk of remote code execution attacks.
Remember to always apply security best practices when working with serialized data and stay informed about potential vulnerabilities that may affect your systems.
Timeline
Published on: 12/25/2024 10:15:05 UTC
Last modified on: 01/03/2025 12:15:26 UTC