Denial of service in protobuf

Published: 2022-11-14 | Updated: 2023-03-07

Risk	Medium
Patch available	YES
Number of vulnerabilities	2
CVE-ID	CVE-2022-3171 CVE-2022-3509
CWE-ID	CWE-20
Exploitation vector	Network
Public exploit	N/A
Vulnerable software	protobuf Other software / Other software solutions
Vendor	Google

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains information about 2 vulnerabilities.

1) Input validation error

EUVDB-ID: #VU69293

Risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-3171

CWE-ID: CWE-20 - Improper input validation

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input containing multiple instances of non-repeated embedded messages with repeated or unknown fields. A remote attacker can cause objects to be converted back-n-forth between mutable and immutable forms, resulting in potentially long garbage collection pauses.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

protobuf: 3.16.0 - 3.21.6

CPE2.3

External links

https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/security/advisories/GHSA-h4h5-3hr4-j3g2
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6960535

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the local network (LAN).

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.

2) Input validation error

EUVDB-ID: #VU69670