CVE-2024-25026 Overview
CVE-2024-25026 is a denial of service vulnerability affecting IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5, 9.0 and IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.4. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause the server to consume excessive memory resources by sending specially crafted requests. This resource exhaustion attack can lead to service disruption and potential system instability in enterprise environments running affected WebSphere deployments.
Critical Impact
Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability without authentication to cause memory exhaustion on WebSphere servers, potentially leading to denial of service conditions affecting business-critical applications.
Affected Products
- IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 (Traditional)
- IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0 (Traditional)
- IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.4
Discovery Timeline
- April 25, 2024 - CVE-2024-25026 published to NVD
- February 27, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-25026
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling). The flaw exists in how IBM WebSphere Application Server handles certain types of incoming requests. When a malicious actor sends a specially crafted request to the server, the application fails to properly limit memory allocation, allowing unbounded resource consumption.
The attack is particularly concerning because it requires no prior authentication or special privileges to exploit. An attacker with network access to the vulnerable WebSphere server can initiate the attack remotely, making internet-facing WebSphere deployments especially at risk.
Root Cause
The root cause of CVE-2024-25026 lies in improper resource allocation handling within WebSphere Application Server. The server fails to implement adequate controls to limit memory allocation when processing certain request types. This lack of throttling or resource boundaries allows an attacker to craft requests that trigger excessive memory consumption without proper cleanup or limits.
Attack Vector
The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the WebSphere Application Server. The attack does not require any user interaction and can be executed against any network-accessible instance of the affected software.
The exploitation process involves constructing requests that trigger the memory allocation flaw, causing the server to allocate memory resources without proper limits. Repeated exploitation can exhaust available system memory, leading to degraded performance or complete service unavailability. See the IBM X-Force Vulnerability #281516 for additional technical details on the attack mechanism.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-25026
Indicators of Compromise
- Abnormal memory consumption patterns on WebSphere Application Server instances
- Unexpected increase in garbage collection activity or OutOfMemoryError exceptions
- Unusual HTTP request patterns, particularly requests with anomalous sizes or structures
- Server performance degradation or unresponsive application endpoints
Detection Strategies
- Monitor WebSphere server memory utilization metrics for sustained high consumption or rapid growth patterns
- Implement application performance monitoring (APM) to detect memory exhaustion conditions
- Analyze HTTP access logs for unusual request patterns or repeated requests from single sources
- Configure JVM heap monitoring and alerting for threshold breaches
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose garbage collection logging to identify memory pressure events
- Set up automated alerts for memory utilization exceeding 80% of allocated heap
- Implement network traffic analysis to detect potential DoS attack patterns
- Monitor WebSphere server response times for degradation indicative of resource exhaustion
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-25026
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all IBM WebSphere Application Server installations in your environment running affected versions
- Apply the latest security patches from IBM as documented in the official support advisory
- Implement network-level rate limiting to reduce the impact of potential exploitation attempts
- Review and restrict network access to WebSphere servers to only trusted sources where possible
Patch Information
IBM has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Administrators should consult the IBM Support Documentation for detailed patching instructions specific to their WebSphere version. For IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty deployments, upgrade to a version newer than 24.0.0.4. For Traditional WebSphere deployments, apply the interim fixes or fix packs specified in the IBM security bulletin.
Workarounds
- Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to filter potentially malicious requests
- Configure reverse proxy or load balancer rate limiting to mitigate DoS impact
- Increase JVM heap allocation as a temporary measure to provide additional buffer against memory exhaustion
- Enable request size limits and connection timeouts at the application server or network layer
# Example: Configure JVM memory limits and monitoring
# Add to WebSphere server.xml or JVM arguments
-Xms2048m -Xmx4096m -verbose:gc -Xloggc:/var/log/websphere/gc.log
# Example: Implement connection limits in web server configuration
# Apache HTTP Server rate limiting (mod_ratelimit)
SetOutputFilter RATE_LIMIT
SetEnv rate-limit 500
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
