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Security Bulletin: Apache CXF (Publicly disclosed vulnerability)

Security Bulletin


Summary

CXF supports (via JwtRequestCodeFilter) passing OAuth 2 parameters via a JWT token as opposed to query parameters (see: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework: JWT Secured Authorization Request (JAR)). Instead of sending a JWT token as a "request" parameter, the spec also supports specifying a URI from which to retrieve a JWT token from via the "request_uri" parameter. CXF was not validating the "request_uri" parameter (apart from ensuring it uses "https) and was making a REST request to the parameter in the request to retrieve a token. This means that CXF was vulnerable to DDos attacks on the authorization server, as specified in section 10.4.1 of the spec. This issue affects Apache CXF versions prior to 3.4.3; Apache CXF versions prior to 3.3.10.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:   CVE-2021-22696
DESCRIPTION:   Apache CXF is vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by improper validation of request_uri parameter by the OAuth 2 authorization service. By sending a specially-crafted request, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial of service condition on the authorization server.
CVSS Base score: 7.5
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/199335 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions


Affected Product(s)Version(s)
ITNM3.9
ITNM4.1.1.x
ITNM4.2.0.x

Remediation/Fixes


Affected Product(s)Version(s)Remediation
ITNM3.9Upgrade to ITNM 4.2 Fix Pack 13 (4.2.0.13)
ITNM4.1.1.xUpgrade to ITNM 4.2 Fix Pack 13 (4.2.0.13)
ITNM4.2.0.xUpgrade to ITNM 4.2 Fix Pack 13 (4.2.0.13)

ITNM 4.2 Fix Pack 13 can be downloaded from Fix Central

Workarounds and Mitigations

None

Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins

References

Off

Change History

10 Aug 2021: Initial Publication

*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.

Disclaimer

Review the IBM security bulletin disclaimer and definitions regarding your responsibilities for assessing potential impact of security vulnerabilities to your environment.

Document Location

Worldwide

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Document Information

Modified date:
23 August 2021

Initial Publish date:
10 August 2021

UID

ibm16483061