CVE-2024-8184: Eclipse Jetty DOS Vulnerability

CVE-2024-8184 Overview

A security vulnerability exists in Eclipse Jetty's ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote() method that can be exploited by unauthorized users to cause a remote denial-of-service (DoS) attack. By repeatedly sending crafted requests, attackers can trigger OutOfMemory errors and exhaust the server's memory, rendering the application unavailable.

Critical Impact

Attackers can remotely exhaust server memory through crafted requests, causing service unavailability and potential cascading failures in dependent systems.

Affected Products

• Eclipse Jetty (multiple versions)

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-10-14 - CVE CVE-2024-8184 published to NVD
• 2025-11-03 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-8184

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) and CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling). The flaw resides in the ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote() method within Eclipse Jetty, a widely-used Java HTTP server and servlet container.

The vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to perform resource exhaustion attacks against Jetty-based web applications. When the ThreadLimitHandler processes incoming requests, the getRemote() method can be abused to allocate memory without proper bounds checking. By sending a sustained volume of specially crafted requests, an attacker can force the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to throw OutOfMemoryError exceptions, effectively crashing the server or degrading its performance to the point of unavailability.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper resource allocation limits in the ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote() method. When processing remote client information, the handler allocates memory resources without implementing adequate safeguards against excessive consumption. This lack of throttling allows malicious actors to repeatedly invoke the vulnerable code path, causing unbounded memory allocation that eventually exhausts the JVM heap space.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires low-privilege authentication to execute. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by:

1. Establishing multiple connections to the target Jetty server
2. Sending repeated crafted HTTP requests that trigger the vulnerable ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote() method
3. Continuing the attack until server memory is exhausted, causing OutOfMemory errors
4. The server becomes unresponsive or crashes, achieving denial of service

The attack does not require user interaction and has a direct impact on availability while confidentiality and integrity remain unaffected.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-8184

Indicators of Compromise

• Abnormally high memory consumption in Jetty server processes
• Frequent java.lang.OutOfMemoryError exceptions in application logs
• Unusual spikes in incoming HTTP request volume from single or multiple sources
• Server unresponsiveness or degraded response times correlating with increased request rates

Detection Strategies

• Monitor JVM heap utilization and set alerts for rapid memory consumption patterns
• Implement log analysis rules to detect recurring OutOfMemory errors in Jetty server logs
• Deploy network-level monitoring to identify request flooding patterns targeting Jetty endpoints
• Configure application performance monitoring (APM) to track ThreadLimitHandler method invocations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose garbage collection logging to identify memory pressure events
• Implement rate limiting at the load balancer or reverse proxy level
• Set up automated alerts for memory utilization exceeding baseline thresholds
• Review Jetty access logs for suspicious request patterns from repeated source IPs

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-8184

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Eclipse Jetty to the latest patched version as specified in the security advisory
• Implement request rate limiting to mitigate exploitation attempts
• Configure JVM memory limits and monitoring to detect potential attacks
• Review and restrict access to Jetty endpoints where feasible

Patch Information

Eclipse has released patches addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should review the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-g8m5-722r-8whq for specific version information and upgrade guidance. The fix is available via GitHub Pull Request #11723. Debian users should also reference the Debian LTS Announcement for distribution-specific patches.

Workarounds

• Implement request rate limiting at the web server or load balancer level to restrict the number of requests per client
• Configure firewall rules to limit connection rates from individual IP addresses
• If ThreadLimitHandler is not required for your deployment, consider disabling or removing it from the handler chain
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block DoS attack patterns

# Example: Configure rate limiting in nginx as a reverse proxy
# Add to nginx configuration to limit request rate
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=jetty_limit:10m rate=10r/s;

server {
    location / {
        limit_req zone=jetty_limit burst=20 nodelay;
        proxy_pass http://jetty_backend;
    }
}