CVE-2024-47554: Apache Commons IO CPU Exhaustion Flaw

CVE-2024-47554 Overview

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in Apache Commons IO.

The org.apache.commons.io.input.XmlStreamReader class may excessively consume CPU resources when processing maliciously crafted input.

This issue affects Apache Commons IO: from 2.0 before 2.14.0.

Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.14.0 or later, which fixes the issue.

Critical Impact

Excessive CPU consumption leading to potential Denial of Service

Affected Products

• apache commons_io
• netapp active_iq_unified_manager
• netapp bluexp

Discovery Timeline

• Not Available - Vulnerability discovered by Not Available
• Not Available - Responsible disclosure to apache
• Not Available - CVE CVE-2024-47554 assigned
• Not Available - apache releases security patch
• 2024-10-03 - CVE CVE-2024-47554 published to NVD
• 2025-07-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-47554

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability originates from an input processing flaw in the XmlStreamReader class of the Apache Commons IO library. Malicious inputs can cause excessive CPU utilization, leading to potential service disruption.

Root Cause

The root cause of the issue is an inefficient handling mechanism for input data streams, lacking proper resource consumption boundaries.

Attack Vector

Network

// Example exploitation code (sanitized)
public void exploit(XmlStreamReader reader) {
    try {
        String maliciousInput = "<maliciousXml><![CDATA[" + repeat('A', 1000000) + "]]></maliciousXml>";
        reader.read(maliciousInput);
    } catch (Exception ex) {
        // Handle exception
    }
}

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-47554

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusually high CPU usage
• Repeated input processing failures
• Long processing times

Detection Strategies

Implement monitoring of resource utilization and track failure rates in XML processing workloads. Use profiling tools to identify anomalous CPU patterns related to XML parsing.

Monitoring Recommendations

Set up alerts for CPU consumption spikes related to the Java processes using Apache Commons IO. Review logs for any XML parsing errors or exceptions.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-47554

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Apache Commons IO to version 2.14.0 or later
• Isolate vulnerable applications to minimize exposure
• Monitor CPU usage of affected services

Patch Information

Visit Apache Commons IO Advisory for patch details.

Workarounds

If immediate patching is not feasible, consider implementing input rate limiting and resource allocation controls to mitigate the effects of the vulnerability.

# Configuration example
ulimit -u 4096 # Limit process numbers