CVE-2021-31525
Description
A vulnerability was detected in net/http of the Go standard library when parsing very large HTTP header values, causing a crash and subsequent denial of service. This vulnerability affects both clients and servers written in Go, however, servers are only vulnerable if the value of MaxHeaderBytes has been increased from the default.
Statement
This vulnerability potentially affects any component written in Go that uses net/http from the standard library. In OpenShift Container Platform (OCP), OpenShift Virtualization, OpenShift ServiceMesh (OSSM) and OpenShift distributed tracing (formerly OpenShift Jaeger), no server side component allows HTTP header values larger than 1 MB (the default), preventing this vulnerability from being exploited by malicious clients. It is possible for components that make client connections to malicious servers to be exploited, however the maximum impact is a crash. This vulnerability is rated Low for the following components:
- OpenShift Container Platform
- OpenShift Virtualization
- OpenShift ServiceMesh
- OpenShift distributed tracing components.
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 | 5.9 | 5.9 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | High | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
AC:H Because either a) servers need to have increased the default setting for MaxHeaderBytes or b) clients need to connect to malicious, attacker-controlled servers.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
When allocating resources without limits, an attacker could prevent other systems, applications, or processes from accessing the same type of resource. It can be easy for an attacker to consume many resources by rapidly making many requests or causing larger resources to be used than is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.