CVE-2024-43398
Description
A vulnerability was found in REXML RubyGems. This package is vulnerable to denial of service (DoS) when parsing a deep XML structure with the same local name attribute. This vulnerability only affects tree parser API like REXML::Document.new, other parser APIs such as stream parser API and SAX2 parser API are not affected.
Statement
Moderate impact: Red Hat products in the current affected scope, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other products that ship the vulnerable REXML component, can be exposed to denial of service when an attacker supplies deeply nested XML with repeated local-name attributes to REXML's tree parser, such as REXML::Document.new. The recorded CVSS 3.1 score is 5.9 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), matching the upstream Moderate assessment and indicating availability impact without confidentiality or integrity impact. Stream parser and SAX2 parser APIs are not affected. The current affects data marks RHEL 10 not affected because the vulnerable code is not present. For delegated affects marked AFFECTED, the owning product teams are pursuing a fix; delegated WONTFIX affects have no fix recorded. The RHEL 9.6 ruby:3.1 affect is marked DEFER, so the fix is deferred for that stream and the residual risk remains denial of service when untrusted XML reaches the affected tree-parser path.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
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 | N/A | 5.9 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
If parsed, recursive entity references allow the attacker to expand data exponentially, quickly consuming all system resources.
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