GHSA-7ppr-r889-mcf2
blaze: Unbounded WebSocket message aggregation in http4s-blaze-server
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maven | org.http4s:http4s-blaze-server_2.13 | < 0.23.18 | 0.23.18 |
| Maven | org.http4s:http4s-blaze-server_2.13 | >= 1.0.0-M1, < 1.0.0-M42 | 1.0.0-M42 |
| Maven | org.http4s:http4s-blaze-server_2.12 | < 0.23.18 | 0.23.18 |
| Maven | org.http4s:http4s-blaze-server_3 | >= 1.0.0-M1, < 1.0.0-M42 | 1.0.0-M42 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Summary
`http4s-blaze-server` aggregates the fragments of an incoming WebSocket
message with no limit on total size or fragment count. A client that
completes a WebSocket handshake can send an unterminated fragmented
message and drive unbounded heap growth in the server JVM, resulting in
denial of service via `OutOfMemoryError`.
## Impact
Any http4s application serving WebSocket routes over
`BlazeServerBuilder` is affected; no non-default configuration is required,
and `maxWebSocketBufferSize` does not bound the aggregate (it bounds only
individual frames). A single connection sending continuation frames that
never set FIN forces the server to buffer every fragment until the heap is
exhausted, terminating the JVM with `OutOfMemoryError` on the blaze
selector thread. Small fragments amplify the cost through per-frame object
overhead, so a modest volume of wire bytes is sufficient. Where the
WebSocket endpoint is reachable without authentication the attacker is
unauthenticated and remote; where the handshake requires a principal, any
authenticated client can still trigger it.
## Workarounds
- No blaze-server configuration bounds the aggregate; `maxWebSocketBufferSize`
is not a mitigation.
- Terminate/limit WebSocket traffic at a fronting layer that enforces
message-size and fragment limits, or disable WebSocket routes.
- Longer term: blaze is EOL upstream; plan migration to a maintained
backend (e.g. ember).
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze/security/advisories/GHSA-7ppr-r889-mcf2
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze/commit/173e8ca820a0d12110bfe409c72e9b9c3d28d471
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze/commit/2ae13a74d55209b6573d5228d1aa94f0361a75d0
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze/commit/fadbe6d0f7f59045425688d313c8d4804973d12f
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze/releases/tag/v0.23.18
- https://github.com/http4s/blaze/releases/tag/v1.0.0-M42