CVE-2022-0618 : Security Advisory and Response

A vulnerability has been identified in SwiftNIO HTTP2 that could allow a network peer to launch a denial of service attack by sending a specially crafted HTTP/2 frame.

Understanding CVE-2022-0618

This CVE involves a logical error in parsing HTTP/2 HEADERS or HTTP/2 PUSH_PROMISE frames, leading to a critical vulnerability.

What is CVE-2022-0618?

When a frame with padding information and no other data is sent, a parsing error occurs, crashing the entire process immediately. The attacker can easily exploit this vulnerability, causing a server crash and service disruption.

The Impact of CVE-2022-0618

The vulnerability poses a high risk to availability as it can drop all in-flight connections and require service restarts. While it doesn't pose confidentiality or integrity risks directly, repeated attacks can lead to potential service errors.

Technical Details of CVE-2022-0618

This section provides insights into the vulnerability's description, affected systems and versions, and the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The logical error in parsing HTTP/2 frames with padding information triggers a parsing error, leading to immediate process crashes.

Affected Systems and Versions

SwiftNIO HTTP2 versions 1.0.0 and 1.19.2 are impacted by this vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can send specially crafted HTTP/2 frames with padding information to crash the server and disrupt services.

Mitigation and Prevention

Discover the immediate steps and long-term practices to enhance security and prevent exploitation.

Immediate Steps to Take

Restrict communication with untrusted peers to mitigate the risk of attack until the parsing code is correctly rewritten.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement stricter access controls and monitor peer communications to prevent similar vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Ensure swift adoption of the updated parsing code to handle HTTP/2 frames correctly and prevent denial of service attacks.