#VU94361 Input validation error in REXML - CVE-2024-35176

Vulnerability identifier: #VU94361

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 7.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-35176

CWE-ID: CWE-20

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
REXML
Web applications / Modules and components for CMS

Vendor: rubygems.org

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input when parsing XML that has multiple bracket character occurrences (e.g. "<") in an attribute value. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted input to the application and perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

REXML: 3.1.8 - 3.2.5

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External links
http://github.com/ruby/rexml/security/advisories/GHSA-vg3r-rm7w-2xgh
http://github.com/ruby/rexml/commit/4325835f92f3f142ebd91a3fdba4e1f1ab7f1cfb
http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/dos-rexml-cve-2024-35176

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.