CVE-2024-21490 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting AngularJS versions from 1.3.0. The vulnerability arises from a regular expression used in the ng-srcset directive that is susceptible to super-linear runtime due to backtracking. When supplied with large, specially crafted input, this can lead to catastrophic backtracking, resulting in a denial of service (DoS). The impact of such an attack can be significant, rendering applications unusable, which is particularly concerning for organizations relying heavily on AngularJS for their web applications.
The CVSS score for this vulnerability is 7.5, indicating a high severity level. This rating underscores the criticality of addressing this vulnerability to avoid potential service disruptions. It's important to note that the affected package is end-of-life (EOL) and will not receive updates to remediate this issue. Organizations using AngularJS are strongly encouraged to migrate to the modern framework, @angular/core, to ensure ongoing support and security.
Given the nature of this vulnerability and its potential for exploitation, organizations should prioritize patching immediately. Failure to address this could expose systems to denial of service attacks, causing significant operational challenges.
Currently, there is no known public exploit for this vulnerability, and it is not listed in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. However, the lack of public exploits does not diminish the urgency of remediation, as vulnerabilities of this nature can be leveraged by attackers in the future.
Organizations that continue to use AngularJS should actively monitor for any updates related to this vulnerability and assess their current usage of the affected software. Migrating to a supported version will not only mitigate this specific risk but also enhance overall security posture.
Vulnerability Details
This vulnerability allows for denial of service due to catastrophic backtracking in a regular expression. The affected product is AngularJS, specifically the angular.js component, with a CVSS score of 7.5. The vulnerability was published on February 10, 2024, and is classified under CWE-1333.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of CVE-2024-21490 is the implementation of a regular expression that does not handle certain input sizes correctly, leading to excessive backtracking. The attack vector is network-based, allowing an attacker to exploit this vulnerability remotely. The complexity of the attack is low, as no special privileges or user interactions are required. The availability impact is high, meaning that the vulnerability can cause significant disruptions in service availability.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Risk to organizations includes potential service disruptions, which can lead to loss of revenue and damage to reputation. The blast radius is significant as many applications built on AngularJS may be affected. Given the CVSS score of 7.5 and the end-of-life status of the affected software, organizations should address this vulnerability in their priority patch cycle.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
All versions of AngularJS from 1.3.0 are affected by this vulnerability. Given that the package is EOL, organizations should migrate to a supported version to avoid exposure to this and other potential vulnerabilities.
Mitigation & Remediation
Organizations should prioritize migration to the newer framework, @angular/core, as no patches will be released for this EOL product. For those unable to migrate immediately, implementing input validation and sanitization can help mitigate the risk of DoS attacks. Additionally, organizations should consider employing rate limiting on the server-side to reduce the likelihood of service disruption from potential exploit attempts.
For further guidance on security testing, organizations can refer to our comprehensive penetration testing services.
Detection Guidance
To detect potential exploitation attempts, organizations should monitor for unusual spikes in traffic or resource usage on applications using AngularJS. Logging and analyzing requests that target the ng-srcset directive will help identify patterns indicative of attempted attacks. Additionally, implementing application performance monitoring can aid in early detection of service degradation.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
The long-term significance of CVE-2024-21490 lies in its demonstration of how even widely-used frameworks can harbor serious vulnerabilities due to outdated code practices. This vulnerability represents a trend where legacy software creates persistent risks in modern applications. Security teams should use this incident as a lesson to regularly assess their software dependencies and maintain a proactive security posture.
For further insights into vulnerability management best practices, organizations can explore our resource on vulnerability management program design.
Additionally, regular security assessments such as penetration testing methodology can help identify similar weaknesses across systems.
In conclusion, organizations should remain vigilant and prioritize the migration away from EOL software to ensure their security posture remains strong and resilient against emerging threats.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
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