Jetty SslConnection does not release pooled ByteBuffers in case of errors

Description

Impact

SslConnection does not release ByteBuffers in case of error code paths.
For example, TLS handshakes that require client-auth with clients that send expired certificates will trigger a TLS handshake errors and the ByteBuffers used to process the TLS handshake will be leaked.

Workarounds

Configure explicitly a RetainableByteBufferPool with max[Heap|Direct]Memory to limit the amount of memory that is leaked.
Eventually the pool will be full of "active" entries (the leaked ones) and will provide ByteBuffers that will be GCed normally.

With embedded-jetty

int maxBucketSize = 1000;
long maxHeapMemory = 128 * 1024L * 1024L; // 128 MB
long maxDirectMemory = 128 * 1024L * 1024L; // 128 MB
RetainableByteBufferPool rbbp = new ArrayRetainableByteBufferPool(0, -1, -1, maxBucketSize, maxHeapMemory, maxDirectMemory);

server.addBean(rbbp); // make sure the ArrayRetainableByteBufferPool is added before the server is started
server.start();

With jetty-home/jetty-base

Create a ${jetty.base}/etc/retainable-byte-buffer-config.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE Configure PUBLIC "-//Jetty//Configure//EN" "https://www.eclipse.org/jetty/configure_10_0.dtd">

<Configure id="Server" class="org.eclipse.jetty.server.Server">
  <Call name="addBean">
    <Arg>
      <New class="org.eclipse.jetty.io.ArrayRetainableByteBufferPool">
        <Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.minCapacity" default="0"/></Arg>
        <Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.factor" default="-1"/></Arg>
        <Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxCapacity" default="-1"/></Arg>
        <Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxBucketSize" default="1000"/></Arg>
        <Arg type="long"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxHeapMemory" default="128000000"/></Arg>
        <Arg type="long"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxDirectMemory" default="128000000"/></Arg>
      </New>
    </Arg>
  </Call>
</Configure>

And then reference it in ${jetty.base}/start.d/retainable-byte-buffer-config.ini

etc/retainable-byte-buffer-config.xml

References

https://github.com/eclipse/jetty.project/issues/8161

For more information

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2022-07-07 20:55:37 UTC
Updated
2023-01-28 05:02:59 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2022-07-07 20:55:37 UTC
NVD published
2022-07-07

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.66% 70.50%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.5 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-404 Improper Resource Shutdown or Release

Affected packages (2)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
maven org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server >= 11.0.0, < 11.0.10 11.0.10
maven org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server >= 10.0.0, < 10.0.10 10.0.10

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence