CVE-2024-23636: Remote Command Execution in SOFARPC

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 0.8%, percentile 56: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.8% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 56% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes com.alipay.sofa:rpc-sofa-boot-starter (Maven) < 5.12.0, fixed in 5.12.0. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

SOFARPC is a Java RPC framework. SOFARPC defaults to using the SOFA Hessian protocol to deserialize received data, while the SOFA Hessian protocol uses a blacklist mechanism to restrict deserialization of potentially dangerous classes for security protection. But, prior to version 5.12.0, there is a gadget chain that can bypass the SOFA Hessian blacklist protection mechanism, and this gadget chain only relies on JDK and does not rely on any third-party components. Version 5.12.0 fixed this issue by adding a blacklist. SOFARPC also provides a way to add additional blacklists. Users can add a class like -Drpcserializeblacklistoverride=org.apache.xpath. to avoid this issue.

From the GitHub advisory

Impact SOFARPC defaults to using the SOFA Hessian protocol to deserialize received data, while the SOFA Hessian protocol uses a blacklist mechanism to restrict deserialization of potentially dangerous classes for security protection. But there is a gadget chain that can bypass the SOFA Hessian blacklist protection mechanism, and this gadget chain only relies on JDK and does not rely on any third-party components.

Patches Fixed this issue by adding a blacklist, users can upgrade to sofarpc version 5.12.0 to avoid this issue.

Workarounds SOFARPC also provides a way to add additional blacklist. Users can add some class like -Drpcserializeblacklistoverride=org.apache.xpath. to avoid this issue.

Weakness type: CWE-502.

Product: com.alipay.sofa:rpc-sofa-boot-starter (Maven) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2024-01-23

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.80% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 56.

Timeline

• 2024-01-23 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2024-01-23 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-7q8p-9953-pxvr published (critical)
• 2024-10-18 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-7q8p-9953-pxvr github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2024-23636 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2024-23636 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com

Critical Maven advisories · Today’s Security Digest