Horizon Alert
Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters
A vulnerability exists in Eclipse Jetty's HTTP/1.1 parser that could allow malicious actors to insert unrequested commands by manipulating how certain data is formatted. This issue is considered critical due to the potential for unauthorized actions.
- Request data can be subtly altered.
- It affects a widely used web server component.
- Confirm relevance and exposure of Jetty instances.
Attack Path
How an attacker could exploit the issue
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to a server running the vulnerable component. The server's HTTP/1.1 parser incorrectly handles chunk extensions within quoted strings, allowing the attacker to inject a secondary, "smuggled" request that the server then processes. This can lead to the execution of unauthorized actions or access to sensitive information, depending on how the smuggled request is interpreted by the backend systems.
- Entry condition: Unauthenticated network access.
- Trigger point: Sending a malformed chunked HTTP request.
- Resulting risk: Request smuggling, unauthorized actions.
Live Threat
Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context
Eclipse Jetty's HTTP/1.1 parser can be tricked into misinterpreting chunked encoding requests, potentially allowing an attacker to insert a malicious request that the server processes as if it were legitimate. This vulnerability could impact services relying on Jetty for handling HTTP traffic when chunk extensions are present in requests.
- Affects HTTP request processing.
- Malicious requests can be injected.
- Unauthorized actions may be performed.
Operational Fix
Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps
Organizations running Eclipse Jetty should determine their exposure by first identifying all instances of the affected technology, then assessing reachability and business criticality. Once identified, the accountable owner must be engaged to plan remediation based on the assessed risk, considering factors like vendor coordination and scheduled maintenance windows.
- Application or infrastructure teams own the issue.
- Verify external reachability and business criticality.
- Plan remediation during the next maintenance window.
