Vulnerability · Published Nov 8, 2023 · Assigned by apache

CVE-2023-39913Apache UIMA Java SDK Core, Apache UIMA Java SDK CPE, Apache UIMA Java SDK Vinci adapter, Apache UIMA Java SDK tools: Potential untrusted code execution when deserializing certain binary CAS formats

High 8.8

In plain English

A high-severity unsafe deserialization in Apache UIMA Java SDK Core from Apache Software Foundation. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 1.5% (higher than 74% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)8.8High
Exploit odds (30 days)1.5%top 25.9% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

Deserialization of Untrusted Data, Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Apache UIMA Java SDK, Apache UIMA Java SDK, Apache UIMA Java SDK, Apache UIMA Java SDK.This issue affects Apache UIMA Java SDK: before 3.5.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.5.0, which fixes the issue. There are several locations in the code where serialized Java objects are deserialized without verifying the data. This affects in particular: * the deserialization of a Java-serialized CAS, but also other binary CAS formats that include TSI information using the CasIOUtils class; * the CAS Editor Eclipse plugin which uses the the CasIOUtils class to load data; * the deserialization of a Java-serialized CAS of the Vinci Analysis Engine service which can receive using Java-serialized CAS objects over network connections; * the CasAnnotationViewerApplet and the CasTreeViewerApplet; * the checkpointing feature of the CPE module. Note that the UIMA framework by default does not start any remotely accessible services (i.e. Vinci) that would be vulnerable to this issue. A user or developer would need to make an active choice to start such a service. However, users or developers may use the CasIOUtils in their own applications and services to parse serialized CAS data. They are affected by this issue unless they ensure that the data passed to CasIOUtils is not a serialized Java object. When using Vinci or using CasIOUtils in own services/applications, the unrestricted deserialization of Java-serialized CAS files may allow arbitrary (remote) code execution. As a remedy, it is possible to set up a global or context-specific ObjectInputFilter (cf. https://openjdk.org/jeps/290  and  https://openjdk.org/jeps/415 ) if running UIMA on a Java version that supports it. Note that Java 1.8 does not support the ObjectInputFilter, so there is no remedy when running on this out-of-support platform. An upgrade to a recent Java version is strongly recommended if you need to secure an UIMA version that is affected by this issue. To mitigate the issue on a Java 9+ platform, you can configure a filter pattern through the "jdk.serialFilter" system property using a semicolon as a separator: To allow deserializing Java-serialized binary CASes, add the classes: * org.apache.uima.cas.impl.CASCompleteSerializer * org.apache.uima.cas.impl.CASMgrSerializer * org.apache.uima.cas.impl.CASSerializer * java.lang.String To allow deserializing CPE Checkpoint data, add the following classes (and any custom classes your application uses to store its checkpoints): * org.apache.uima.collection.impl.cpm.CheckpointData * org.apache.uima.util.ProcessTrace * org.apache.uima.util.impl.ProcessTrace_impl * org.apache.uima.collection.base_cpm.SynchPoint Make sure to use "!*" as the final component to the filter pattern to disallow deserialization of any classes not listed in the pattern. Apache UIMA 3.5.0 uses tightly scoped ObjectInputFilters when reading Java-serialized data depending on the type of data being expected. Configuring a global filter is not necessary with this version.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Mavenorg.apache.uima:uimaj3.5.0GHSA-5r8j-qmcm-7g7q

Affected products (as reported)

Weakness: CWE-502, CWE-20 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References