GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q
HIGHDoS vulnerabilities persist in ESAPI file uploads despite remediation of CVE-2023-24998
Blast Radius
org.owasp.esapi:esapiReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
ESAPI 2.5.2.0 and later addressed the DoS vulnerability described in CVE-2023-24998, which Apache Commons FileUpload 1.5 attempted to remediate. But while writing up a new security bulletin regarding the impact on the affected ESAPI HTTPUtilities.getFileUploads methods (or more specifically those methods in the DefaultHTTPUtilities implementation class), I realized that a DoS vulnerability still persists in ESAPI and for that matter in Apache Commons FileUpload as well.
Related to
CVE-2023-24998
Patches
ESAPI 2.5.2.0 or later.
Workarounds
- See the 'Solutions' section of Security Bulletin 11, in the References section. If you are not using ESAPI file uploads, see also the 'Workarounds' section.
- Deploy an external WAF or other suitable DoS protection.
- Add additional defenses to your code using HTTPUtilities.getFileUpload, such as requiring prior authentication, restricting how many / much content can be uploaded per user per day or per hour, etc. (It is the opinion of the ESAPI development team that such required controls should not be added to ESAPI because it is a general purpose security library and thus ESAPI ought not be enforcing generic policies like these on everyone, especially it it could break existing code bases.)
References
Security Bulletin 11: How Does CVE-2023-24998 Impact ESAPI? New ESAPI 2.5.2.0 or later Javadoc on HTTPUtilities.getFileUploads: https://javadoc.io/static/org.owasp.esapi/esapi/2.5.2.0/org/owasp/esapi/HTTPUtilities.html#getFileUploads-javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest-java.io.File-java.util.List- (Note: This link won't work until the 2.5.2.0 release is made official.)
Final Word
(Especially to GitHub Advance Security team / GitHub as a CNA) -- I do not really wish to file a CVE for this. I had originally considered it, but there is no real way to address the general DoS scenarios for file uploads without breaking ESAPI client code which we are not willing to do. The clients have to take some responsibility for this themselves. In the next ESAPI release, I am going to add a reference to the appropriate Javadoc to this GitHub Security Advisory, but that's the best we can do. If you wish to discuss this with me, please first contact me via email at [email protected].
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.owasp.esapi:esapi | all versions | 2.5.2.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.owasp.esapi:esapi. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.owasp.esapi:esapi to 2.5.2.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-7c2q-5qmr-v76q across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.