CVE-2024-51741 is identified as a medium-severity vulnerability in Redis, an open-source, in-memory database that persists on disk. This vulnerability allows authenticated users with sufficient privileges to create a malformed Access Control List (ACL) selector. When accessed, this malformed selector can trigger a server panic, resulting in a denial of service (DoS). The issue was resolved in Redis versions 7.2.7 and 7.4.2, making it critical for users to upgrade to these versions or later to mitigate the risk.
The severity of this vulnerability is classified as medium, with a CVSS score of 4.4. This score indicates a moderate risk for organizations using affected versions of Redis, and they should pay attention to the potential impact on availability. The vulnerability was published on January 6, 2025, and has been analyzed but not included in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
Risk to organizations includes potential service interruptions caused by a denial of service attack. Given the importance of Redis in application architectures, a successful exploitation could disrupt services that rely on this database, leading to significant operational impacts. Consequently, organizations should prioritize patching immediately.
Organizations using Redis should assess their current versions against the fixed versions. It is advisable to schedule remedial actions as soon as possible to avoid any potential disruptions in service.
Vulnerability Details
The official description of CVE-2024-51741 indicates that an authenticated user with high privileges can create a malformed ACL selector. The vulnerability is associated with CWE-20, which relates to improper input validation. This results in high availability impact, while confidentiality and integrity impacts are noted as none. The affected versions are those prior to Redis 7.2.7 and 7.4.2.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of ACL selectors by the Redis server. When an authenticated user creates a malformed selector, the server encounters unexpected conditions leading to a panic state, which causes the service to become unavailable. The attack vector for this vulnerability is local, as it requires authenticated access. The attack complexity is low, and the privileges required are high, meaning only users with specific roles can exploit the vulnerability.
No user interaction is required for an attacker to trigger this vulnerability. If exploited, it results in a complete denial of service to the Redis instance, affecting availability. Organizations should monitor their Redis deployments for anomalous behavior indicative of attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
Risk & Impact Analysis
The real-world deployment risk associated with CVE-2024-51741 is significant for any organization relying on Redis for critical services. The blast radius is substantial, as many applications depend on Redis for caching, session management, and data storage. If exploited, an attacker could render the Redis service unavailable, leading to cascading failures across dependent services.
Given the CVSS score of 4.4, organizations are urged to address this vulnerability in their priority patch cycle. Delaying remediation could result in increased vulnerability exposure, especially in environments where Redis is extensively integrated into application architectures.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
The vulnerability affects all Redis versions from 7.0.0 up to, but not including, 7.2.7 and from 7.4.0 to 7.4.2. Organizations should ensure they are running the latest versions (7.2.7 or 7.4.2) to mitigate this risk.
Mitigation & Remediation
To remediate this vulnerability, organizations should update their Redis installations to version 7.2.7 or 7.4.2. If patching is not immediately possible, organizations should implement configuration hardening by reviewing ACL settings to minimize the risk of malformed selectors. Network controls should also be established to limit access to Redis instances to only those users who require it.
Additionally, organizations can benefit from continuous security testing to validate the effectiveness of their remediation efforts and ensure no similar vulnerabilities exist.
Detection Guidance
Organizations should monitor Redis logs for any unusual access patterns, particularly those involving ACL modifications. Behavioral anomalies such as unexpected server crashes or high resource usage may indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Network signatures should also be established to detect malicious access attempts.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
CVE-2024-51741 highlights the importance of proper input validation, particularly in systems that handle critical data storage and processing like Redis. The long-term significance of this vulnerability emphasizes the need for security teams to implement robust validation mechanisms to prevent similar issues in the future.
The pattern of vulnerabilities arising from insufficient input validation continues to be a trend across various technologies, and organizations must remain vigilant. Lessons learned from this incident should inform security practices, including regular audits of access control mechanisms and proactive monitoring of database interactions.
To further enhance security, organizations are encouraged to explore advanced security assessments, including penetration testing and application security assessments to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
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