{"schema_version":"1.7.3","id":"GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv","published":"2024-11-12T19:53:17Z","modified":"2026-02-04T03:40:54.362888Z","aliases":["CVE-2024-47535"],"related":["CGA-gg9f-jjjq-8p3f"],"summary":"Denial of Service attack on windows app using netty","details":"### Summary\n\nAn unsafe reading of environment file could potentially cause a denial of service in Netty.\nWhen loaded on an Windows application, Netty attemps to load a file that does not exist. If an attacker creates such a large file, the Netty application crash.\n\n\n### Details\n\nWhen the library netty is loaded in a java windows application, the library tries to identify the system environnement in which it is executed.\n\nAt this stage, Netty tries to load both `/etc/os-release` and `/usr/lib/os-release` even though it is in a Windows environment. \n\n<img width=\"364\" alt=\"1\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9466b181-9394-45a3-b0e3-1dcf105def59\">\n\nIf netty finds this files, it reads them and loads them into memory.\n\nBy default :\n\n- The JVM maximum memory size is set to 1 GB,\n- A non-privileged user can create a directory at `C:\\` and create files within it.\n\n<img width=\"340\" alt=\"2\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/43b359a2-5871-4592-ae2b-ffc40ac76831\">\n\n<img width=\"523\" alt=\"3\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ad5c6eed-451c-4513-92d5-ba0eee7715c1\">\n\nthe source code identified :\nhttps://github.com/netty/netty/blob/4.1/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/internal/PlatformDependent.java\n\nDespite the implementation of the function `normalizeOs()` the source code not verify the OS before reading `C:\\etc\\os-release` and `C:\\usr\\lib\\os-release`.\n\n### PoC\n\nCreate a file larger than 1 GB of data in `C:\\etc\\os-release` or `C:\\usr\\lib\\os-release` on a Windows environnement and start your Netty application.\n\nTo observe what the application does with the file, the security analyst used \"Process Monitor\" from the \"Windows SysInternals\" suite. (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/)\n\n```\ncd C:\\etc\nfsutil file createnew os-release 3000000000\n```\n\n<img width=\"519\" alt=\"4\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/39df22a3-462b-4fd0-af9a-aa30077ec08f\">\n\n<img width=\"517\" alt=\"5\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/129dbd50-fc36-4da5-8eb1-582123fb528f\">\n\nThe source code used is the Netty website code example : [Echo ‐ the very basic client and server](https://netty.io/4.1/xref/io/netty/example/echo/package-summary.html).\n\nThe vulnerability was tested on the 4.1.112.Final version.\n\nThe security analyst tried the same technique for `C:\\proc\\sys\\net\\core\\somaxconn` with a lot of values to impact Netty but the only things that works is the \"larger than 1 GB file\" technique. https://github.com/netty/netty/blob/c0fdb8e9f8f256990e902fcfffbbe10754d0f3dd/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/NetUtil.java#L186\n\n### Impact\n\nBy loading the \"file larger than 1 GB\" into the memory, the Netty library exceeds the JVM memory limit and causes a crash in the java Windows application.\n\nThis behaviour occurs 100% of the time in both Server mode and Client mode if the large file exists.\n\nClient mode :\n\n<img width=\"449\" alt=\"6\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f8fe1ed0-1a42-4490-b9ed-dbc9af7804be\">\n\nServer mode :\n\n<img width=\"464\" alt=\"7\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b34b42bd-4fbd-4170-b93a-d29ba87b88eb\">\n\nsomaxconn :\n\n<img width=\"532\" alt=\"8\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0656b3bb-32c6-4ae2-bff7-d93babba08a3\">\n\n### Severity\n\n- Attack vector : \"Local\" because the attacker needs to be on the system where the Netty application is running.\n- Attack complexity : \"Low\" because the attacker only need to create a massive file (regardless of its contents).\n- Privileges required : \"Low\" because the attacker requires a user account to exploit the vulnerability.\n- User intercation : \"None\" because the administrator don't need to accidentally click anywhere to trigger the vulnerability. Furthermore, the exploitation works with defaults windows/AD settings.\n- Scope : \"Unchanged\" because only Netty is affected by the vulnerability.\n- Confidentiality : \"None\" because no data is exposed through exploiting the vulnerability.\n- Integrity : \"None\" because the explotation of the vulnerability does not allow editing, deleting or adding data elsewhere.\n- Availability : \"High\" because the exploitation of this vulnerability crashes the entire java application.","affected":[{"package":{"name":"io.netty:netty-common","ecosystem":"Maven","purl":"pkg:maven/io.netty/netty-common"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"4.1.115.Final"}]}],"versions":["4.0.0.Alpha1","4.0.0.Alpha2","4.0.0.Alpha3","4.0.0.Alpha4","4.0.0.Alpha5","4.0.0.Alpha6","4.0.0.Alpha7","4.0.0.Alpha8","4.0.0.Beta1","4.0.0.Beta2","4.0.0.Beta3","4.0.0.CR1","4.0.0.CR2","4.0.0.CR3","4.0.0.CR4","4.0.0.CR5","4.0.0.CR6","4.0.0.CR7","4.0.0.CR8","4.0.0.CR9","4.0.0.Final","4.0.1.Final","4.0.10.Final","4.0.11.Final","4.0.12.Final","4.0.13.Final","4.0.14.Beta1","4.0.14.Final","4.0.15.Final","4.0.16.Final","4.0.17.Final","4.0.18.Final","4.0.19.Final","4.0.2.Final","4.0.20.Final","4.0.21.Final","4.0.22.Final","4.0.23.Final","4.0.24.Final","4.0.25.Final","4.0.26.Final","4.0.27.Final","4.0.28.Final","4.0.29.Final","4.0.3.Final","4.0.30.Final","4.0.31.Final","4.0.32.Final","4.0.33.Final","4.0.34.Final","4.0.35.Final","4.0.36.Final","4.0.37.Final","4.0.38.Final","4.0.39.Final","4.0.4.Final","4.0.40.Final","4.0.41.Final","4.0.42.Final","4.0.43.Final","4.0.44.Final","4.0.45.Final","4.0.46.Final","4.0.47.Final","4.0.48.Final","4.0.49.Final","4.0.5.Final","4.0.50.Final","4.0.51.Final","4.0.52.Final","4.0.53.Final","4.0.54.Final","4.0.55.Final","4.0.56.Final","4.0.6.Final","4.0.7.Final","4.0.8.Final","4.0.9.Final","4.1.0.Beta1","4.1.0.Beta2","4.1.0.Beta3","4.1.0.Beta4","4.1.0.Beta5","4.1.0.Beta6","4.1.0.Beta7","4.1.0.Beta8","4.1.0.CR1","4.1.0.CR2","4.1.0.CR3","4.1.0.CR4","4.1.0.CR5","4.1.0.CR6","4.1.0.CR7","4.1.0.Final","4.1.1.Final","4.1.10.Final","4.1.100.Final","4.1.101.Final","4.1.102.Final","4.1.103.Final","4.1.104.Final","4.1.105.Final","4.1.106.Final","4.1.107.Final","4.1.108.Final","4.1.109.Final","4.1.11.Final","4.1.110.Final","4.1.111.Final","4.1.112.Final","4.1.113.Final","4.1.114.Final","4.1.12.Final","4.1.13.Final","4.1.14.Final","4.1.15.Final","4.1.16.Final","4.1.17.Final","4.1.18.Final","4.1.19.Final","4.1.2.Final","4.1.20.Final","4.1.21.Final","4.1.22.Final","4.1.23.Final","4.1.24.Final","4.1.25.Final","4.1.26.Final","4.1.27.Final","4.1.28.Final","4.1.29.Final","4.1.3.Final","4.1.30.Final","4.1.31.Final","4.1.32.Final","4.1.33.Final","4.1.34.Final","4.1.35.Final","4.1.36.Final","4.1.37.Final","4.1.38.Final","4.1.39.Final","4.1.4.Final","4.1.40.Final","4.1.41.Final","4.1.42.Final","4.1.43.Final","4.1.44.Final","4.1.45.Final","4.1.46.Final","4.1.47.Final","4.1.48.Final","4.1.49.Final","4.1.5.Final","4.1.50.Final","4.1.51.Final","4.1.52.Final","4.1.53.Final","4.1.54.Final","4.1.55.Final","4.1.56.Final","4.1.57.Final","4.1.58.Final","4.1.59.Final","4.1.6.Final","4.1.60.Final","4.1.61.Final","4.1.62.Final","4.1.63.Final","4.1.64.Final","4.1.65.Final","4.1.66.Final","4.1.67.Final","4.1.68.Final","4.1.69.Final","4.1.7.Final","4.1.70.Final","4.1.71.Final","4.1.72.Final","4.1.73.Final","4.1.74.Final","4.1.75.Final","4.1.76.Final","4.1.77.Final","4.1.78.Final","4.1.79.Final","4.1.8.Final","4.1.80.Final","4.1.81.Final","4.1.82.Final","4.1.83.Final","4.1.84.Final","4.1.85.Final","4.1.86.Final","4.1.87.Final","4.1.88.Final","4.1.89.Final","4.1.9.Final","4.1.90.Final","4.1.91.Final","4.1.92.Final","4.1.93.Final","4.1.94.Final","4.1.95.Final","4.1.96.Final","4.1.97.Final","4.1.98.Final","4.1.99.Final"],"database_specific":{"last_known_affected_version_range":"<= 4.1.114.Final","source":"https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2024/11/GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv/GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv.json"}}],"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-xq3w-v528-46rv"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-47535"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/fbf7a704a82e7449b48bd0bbb679f5661c6d61a3"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/netty/netty"}],"database_specific":{"cwe_ids":["CWE-400"],"github_reviewed":true,"github_reviewed_at":"2024-11-12T19:53:17Z","nvd_published_at":"2024-11-12T16:15:22Z","severity":"MODERATE"},"severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"},{"type":"CVSS_V4","score":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P"}]}