Vulnerability identifier: #VU97574

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 6.5 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-7254

CWE-ID: CWE-674

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
protobuf
Other software / Other software solutions

Vendor: Google

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation when parsing nested groups as unknown fields with DiscardUnknownFieldsParser or Java Protobuf Lite parser, or against Protobuf map fields. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted input to the application to create unbounded recursions and perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

protobuf: 28.0 - 28.1, 27.0 - 27.4, 25.0 - 25.4, 26.0 - 26.1, 24.0 - 24.4, 23.0 - 23.4, 22.0 - 22.5, 21.0 - 21.12, 20.2, 19.5, 18.3, 16.2, 5.28.0 - 5.28.1, 5.27.0 - 5.27.4, 5.26.0 - 5.26.1, 4.25.0 - 4.25.4, 4.24.0 - 4.24.4, 4.23.0 - 4.23.4, 4.22.0 - 4.22.5, 3.28.0 - 3.28.1, 3.27.0 - 3.27.4, 3.25.0 - 3.25.4, 3.26.0 - 3.26.1, 3.24.0 - 3.24.4, 3.23.0 - 3.23.4, 3.22.0 - 3.22.5, 3.21.0 - 3.21.12, 3.20.0 - 3.20.3, 3.19.0 - 3.19.6, 3.16.0 - 3.16.3, 3.18.0 - 3.18.3, 3.17.0 - 3.17.3, 3.15.0 - 3.15.8, 3.0.0 - 3.0.2, 3.1.0, 3.2.0 - 3.2.1, 3.3.0 - 3.3.2, 3.4.0 - 3.4.1, 3.5.0 - 3.5.2, 3.6.0 - 3.6.1.3, 3.7.0 - 3.7.1, 3.8.0, 3.9.0 - 3.9.2, 3.10.0 - 3.10.1, 3.14.0, 3.13.0 - 3.13.0.1, 3.12.0 - 3.12.4, 3.11.0 - 3.11.4

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External links
http://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/commit/cc8b3483a5584b3301e3d43d17eb59704857ffaa

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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.