Learn about CVE-2022-23517, a vulnerability in rails-html-sanitizer < 1.4.4 allowing CPU resource exhaustion, its impact, technical details, and mitigation steps.
GitHub Security Advisory specifies a vulnerability in rails-html-sanitizer software, which can lead to Denial of Service. Find out more about this vulnerability and how to mitigate it.
Understanding CVE-2022-23517
This CVE relates to an inefficient regular expression complexity issue in rails-html-sanitizer, potentially leading to a denial of service attack through CPU resource consumption.
What is CVE-2022-23517?
rails-html-sanitizer, used for sanitizing HTML fragments in Rails applications, has a vulnerability in versions below 1.4.4 due to an inefficient regular expression that is prone to excessive backtracking, causing a CPU resource exhaustion.
The Impact of CVE-2022-23517
The impact involves a denial of service scenario where an attacker could exploit the vulnerability to consume significant amounts of CPU resources, potentially disrupting the normal operation of the affected system.
Technical Details of CVE-2022-23517
This section covers detailed technical aspects of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Description
The issue exists in rails-html-sanitizer versions lower than 1.4.4, caused by an inefficient regular expression susceptible to excessive backtracking when sanitizing certain SVG attributes, leading to CPU resource exhaustion.
Affected Systems and Versions
The vulnerability affects rails-html-sanitizer versions less than 1.4.4.
Exploitation Mechanism
Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by crafting specific inputs that trigger the inefficient regular expression, causing the system to get stuck in a resource-intensive operation.
Mitigation and Prevention
Learn how to mitigate and prevent the exploitation of CVE-2022-23517.
Immediate Steps to Take
Upgrade rails-html-sanitizer to version 1.4.4 or later to address the vulnerability and prevent potential denial of service attacks.
Long-Term Security Practices
Regularly update software components and follow security best practices to reduce the risk of exposure to similar vulnerabilities in the future.
Patching and Updates
Stay informed about security patches and updates released by rails-html-sanitizer to protect your system from known vulnerabilities.