CVE-2022-41723 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting the Golang programming language, specifically its HTTP/2 stream handling. This vulnerability allows a maliciously crafted HTTP/2 stream to cause excessive CPU consumption in the HPACK decoder. The resulting denial of service can be triggered by sending a small number of small requests, making it a concerning issue for applications relying on Golang.
With a CVSS score of 7.5, this vulnerability falls into the high severity category, indicating a significant risk to organizations. The attack vector is network-based, and it requires no privileges or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous. Organizations utilizing Golang should be aware of the potential impact this vulnerability can have on their systems.
As of now, there are no known exploits publicly available, but the nature of this vulnerability suggests that it could be actively targeted by attackers. Organizations should prioritize patching immediately to safeguard their applications and mitigate the risk of denial of service attacks.
The publication date of this vulnerability was February 28, 2023, and it is classified as modified, indicating updates or changes have been made since its initial disclosure. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations to stay informed about the latest patches and updates from the Golang development team.
Given the potential for significant impact, organizations should assess their exposure to this vulnerability and implement the necessary remediation strategies without delay.
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability allows a maliciously crafted HTTP/2 stream to cause excessive CPU consumption in the HPACK decoder, sufficient to cause a denial of service from a small number of small requests. It has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, which indicates high severity due to its potential for significant availability impact.
The affected components include Golang's go, hpack, and http2 packages. The vulnerability affects all versions prior to the vendor patch, specifically those before 1.19.6 and 1.20.0 for the go component, and versions before 0.7.0 for the hpack and http2 components.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of CVE-2022-41723 lies in the HPACK decoder's inability to appropriately handle certain malformed HTTP/2 stream inputs, leading to excessive CPU consumption. The attack vector is network-based, indicating that an attacker can exploit the vulnerability remotely, without needing physical access to the vulnerable system. The attack complexity is low, meaning that it can be executed with minimal effort. No privileges are required, and user interaction is also not necessary.
The impact on confidentiality and integrity is assessed to be none, while the availability impact is classified as high, as it can lead to significant service disruption.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Risk to organizations includes potential denial of service, which could disrupt operations and impact the availability of services relying on Golang. The blast radius could be significant if exploited, affecting numerous users and systems. Organizations should prioritize this vulnerability in their patching cycles due to its high CVSS score and potential for exploitation.
Given that this vulnerability is not listed in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) database, organizations may still consider it a priority for remediation due to its high severity. The exploitation potential, combined with the ease of execution, necessitates immediate attention by security teams.
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
The vulnerability impacts all versions of Golang prior to the vendor patch, specifically affecting versions of the go component before 1.19.6 and 1.20.0, as well as the hpack and http2 components before 0.7.0. Organizations should ensure they are running the patched versions to mitigate this vulnerability.
Mitigation & Remediation
To mitigate CVE-2022-41723, organizations must update to the latest version of Golang that addresses this vulnerability. Specifically, they should upgrade to at least version 1.19.6 for the go component and 0.7.0 for both the hpack and http2 components.
For organizations unable to patch immediately, implementing network controls to restrict access to potentially vulnerable services can provide a temporary measure to protect against exploitation of this vulnerability.
Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments, including penetration testing, to identify and address vulnerabilities in their systems. Such proactive measures can help ensure the resilience of applications against various attack vectors.
Continuous penetration testing can be an effective strategy to validate the implementation of patches and to assess the security posture of applications.
Detection Guidance
Security teams should monitor logs for indicators of unusual behavior, particularly in processes handling HTTP/2 streams. Anomalies in CPU usage patterns may signal attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
Additionally, organizations should implement network signatures to detect malicious HTTP/2 traffic that may attempt to exploit this vulnerability. Regular reviews of system changes can also help identify potential exploitation attempts.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
CVE-2022-41723 represents a critical area of concern for organizations using Golang in their applications. The long-term significance of this vulnerability is highlighted by the potential for automated attacks targeting HTTP/2 streams, which are increasingly common as more applications adopt this protocol.
Security teams should stay informed about such vulnerabilities and continuously refine their security strategies to counter evolving threats. Organizations need to ensure they have an effective vulnerability management program in place to quickly respond to new threats.
The patterns observed in this vulnerability also indicate a broader trend of vulnerabilities associated with resource exhaustion. Organizations should consider implementing best practices in penetration testing methodology to uncover similar weaknesses proactively.
In conclusion, organizations must prioritize patching and remain vigilant against potential exploitation of CVE-2022-41723 to ensure their applications remain secure.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
.webp)