CVE-2021-3121
Description
A flaw was found in github.com/gogo/protobuf before 1.3.2 that allows an out-of-bounds access when unmarshalling certain protobuf objects. This flaw allows a remote attacker to send crafted protobuf messages, causing panic and resulting in a denial of service. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to availability.
Statement
OpenShift Container Platform (OCP), OpenShift ServiceMesh (OSSM) and Red Hat OpenShift Jaeger (RHOSJ) all include code generated by github.com/gogo/protobuf to parse protobuf messages. However, no component is known to accept protobuf messages from unauthenticated sources, hence this vulnerability is rated Moderate for OCP, OSSM and RHOSJ.
OpenShift Virtualization includes code generated by github.com/gogo/protobuf to parse protobuf messages. However, no component of OpenShift Virtualization is known to accept protobuf messages from unauthenticated sources, hence this vulnerability is rated Moderate.
Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes (RHACM) includes code generated by github.com/gogo/protobuf to parse protobuf messages. However, no RHACM component is accepting protobuf messages from unauthenticated sources and are used with a limited scope, hence this vulnerability is rated Moderate for RHACM.
Red Hat Cluster Application Migration (CAM) includes code generated by github.com/gogo/protobuf to parse protobuf messages. However, no CAM component is known to accept protobuf messages from unauthenticated sources, hence this vulnerability is rated Moderate for CAM.
Cryostat-2 is affected as it does ship gogo/protobuf library with it's distribution but the only use for Protobuf would be the Kubernetes/OpenShift API server the operator communicates with and it should be authenticated hence it is affected with Moderate impact.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 8.6 | 8.6 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | Low | Low | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Low | Low | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
Go is a memory safe language and includes bounds checks that immediately trigger a panic, limiting the impact of memory corruption flaws like this to a denial of service. Only with the explicit use of the 'unsafe' package would a Go program be susceptible to further memory corruption. The 'unsafe' package is not used in any of the vulnerable Unmarshal() functions generated by github.com/gogo/protobuf.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Use of an index that is outside the bounds of an array will very likely result in the corruption of relevant memory and perhaps instructions, leading to a crash, if the values are outside of the valid memory area.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
If the memory corrupted is data, rather than instructions, the system will continue to function with improper values.
Confidentiality,Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Read Memory
Use of an index that is outside the bounds of an array can also trigger out-of-bounds read or write operations, or operations on the wrong objects; i.e., "buffer overflows" are not always the result. This may result in the exposure or modification of sensitive data.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If the memory accessible by the attacker can be effectively controlled, it may be possible to execute arbitrary code, as with a standard buffer overflow and possibly without the use of large inputs if a precise index can be controlled.
Integrity,Availability,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
A single fault could allow either an overflow (CWE-788) or underflow (CWE-786) of the array index. What happens next will depend on the type of operation being performed out of bounds, but can expose sensitive information, cause a system crash, or possibly lead to arbitrary code execution.
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