CVE-2018-20840 : What You Need to Know
Discover the impact of CVE-2018-20840, a vulnerability in Google API C++ Client's Google Sign-In feature before April 10, 2019, potentially leading to denial-of-service attacks on unprepared third-party services.
Before April 10, 2019, a vulnerability in Google API C++ Client's Google Sign-In could lead to an unhandled exception, potentially causing denial-of-service attacks on third-party services.
Understanding CVE-2018-20840
This CVE highlights a vulnerability in Google API C++ Client's Google Sign-In feature that could be exploited to disrupt third-party services.
What is CVE-2018-20840?
The vulnerability in Google API C++ Client's Google Sign-In feature before April 10, 2019, could result in an unhandled exception, leading to denial-of-service attacks on third-party services that were not prepared to handle such exceptions.
The Impact of CVE-2018-20840
Exploitation of this vulnerability could prevent users from logging in or signing in to affected third-party services, potentially causing service disruptions.
Technical Details of CVE-2018-20840
This section provides more technical insights into the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Description
The mishandling of ID token on the client side could trigger an unhandled exception due to misinterpreting an integer as a string, leading to denial-of-service attacks.
Affected Systems and Versions
- Product: n/a
- Vendor: n/a
- Versions: n/a
Exploitation Mechanism
A malicious user could exploit this vulnerability by requesting the client to receive the ID token from a Google authentication server when the third-party service is using Google Sign-In with google-api-cpp-client.
Mitigation and Prevention
It is crucial to take immediate steps to address and prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability.
Immediate Steps to Take
- Update the Google API C++ Client to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability.
- Implement proper exception handling mechanisms in third-party services.
Long-Term Security Practices
- Regularly update and patch all software components to prevent vulnerabilities.
- Conduct security audits and assessments to identify and mitigate potential risks.
Patching and Updates
Ensure that all systems and software components are regularly updated with the latest security patches to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.