CVE-2021-29485CWE-502

Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Session Storage

Critical · published June 29, 2021

CVSS v3.1
9.9
EPSS
2%
Percentile
80.5
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

🔥 A crafty Java deserialization mishap in Ratpack could let an attacker execute remote code like a magician pulling bunnies out of hats! 😱 Think of it as a restaurant chef blindly trusting an order that comes in without checking for allergens—anyone could swap in a dangerous ingredient! The deserialization flaw here allows attackers to send harmful payloads that the system accepts without question. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain full control over the server, running malicious code at will. They could steal sensitive data, tamper with application functionality, or even bring your server down entirely—an absolutely devastating scenario for any web application!

Put simply

Think of it as a restaurant chef blindly trusting an order that comes in without checking for allergens—anyone could swap in a dangerous ingredient! The deserialization flaw here allows attackers to send harmful payloads that the system accepts without question. In versions prior to 1.9.0, Ratpack's session store is susceptible to Remote Code Execution via a carefully constructed Java deserialization chain, allowing attackers to manipulate session data.

What to do

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain full control over the server, running malicious code at will. They could steal sensitive data, tamper with application functionality, or even bring your server down entirely—an absolutely devastating scenario for any web application! Upgrade Ratpack to version 1.9.0 or later, which introduces a strict allow-list mechanism to mitigate this vulnerability. If upgrading isn’t immediately feasible, consider reducing write permissions to the session data store or backporting an allow-list mechanism for `SessionSerializer`. You've got this! Follow these steps and you’ll ensure your application stays secure and resilient! 🛡️

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
9.9 · CRITICAL
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.01989 · 80.5th percentile
Weakness
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Published
2021-06-29T18:35Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 29 JUN 18:35Z
    Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Session Storage
    cvelistv5