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CVE-2022-2421 — Vulnerability in socket.io-parser — CVE Details

CRITICAL

Insufficient validation when decoding a Socket.IO packet

Published October 26, 2022Updated November 8, 2023Source: osv

Summary

Due to improper type validation in the `socket.io-parser` library (which is used by the `socket.io` and `socket.io-client` packages to encode and decode Socket.IO packets), it is possible to overwrite the _placeholder object which allows an attacker to place references to functions at arbitrary places in the resulting query object. Example: ```js const decoder = new Decoder(); decoder.on("decoded", (packet) => { console.log(packet.data); // prints [ 'hello', [Function: splice] ] }) decoder.add('51-["hello",{"_placeholder":true,"num":"splice"}]'); decoder.add(Buffer.from("world")); ``` This bubbles up in the `socket.io` package: ```js io.on("connection", (socket) => { socket.on("hello", (val) => { // here, "val" could be a function instead of a buffer }); }); ``` :warning: IMPORTANT NOTE :warning: You need to make sure that the payload that you received from the client is actually a `Buffer` object: ```js io.on("connection", (socket) => { socket.on("hello", (val) => { if (!Buffer.isBuffer(val)) { socket.disconnect(); return; } // ... }); }); ``` **If that's already the case, then you are not impacted by this issue, and there is no way an attacker could make your server crash (or escalate privileges, ...).** Example of values that could be sent by a malicious user: - a number that is out of bounds Sample packet: `451-["hello",{"_placeholder":true,"num":10}]` ```js io.on("connection", (socket) => { socket.on("hello", (val) => { // val is `undefined` }); }); ``` - a value that is not a number, like `undefined` Sample packet: `451-["hello",{"_placeholder":true,"num":undefined}]` ```js io.on("connection", (socket) => { socket.on("hello", (val) => { // val is `undefined` }); }); ``` - a string that is part of the prototype of `Array`, like "push" Sample packet: `451-["hello",{"_placeholder":true,"num":"push"}]` ```js io.on("connection", (socket) => { socket.on("hello", (val) => { // val is a reference to the "push" function }); }); ``` - a string that is part of the prototype of `Object`, like "hasOwnProperty" Sample packet: `451-["hello",{"_placeholder":true,"num":"hasOwnProperty"}]` ```js io.on("connection", (socket) => { socket.on("hello", (val) => { // val is a reference to the "hasOwnProperty" function }); }); ``` This should be fixed by: - https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-parser/commit/b5d0cb7dc56a0601a09b056beaeeb0e43b160050, included in `socket.io-parser@4.2.1` - https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-parser/commit/b559f050ee02bd90bd853b9823f8de7fa94a80d4, included in `socket.io-parser@4.0.5` - https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-parser/commit/04d23cecafe1b859fb03e0cbf6ba3b74dff56d14, included in `socket.io-parser@3.4.2` - https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-parser/commit/fb21e422fc193b34347395a33e0f625bebc09983, included in `socket.io-parser@3.3.3` ### Dependency analysis for the `socket.io` package | `socket.io` version | `socket.io-parser` version | Covered? | |---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------| | `4.5.2...latest` | `~4.2.0` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/commit/9890b036cf942f6b6ad2afeb6a8361c32cd5d528)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `4.1.3...4.5.1` | `~4.0.4` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/commit/7c44893d7878cd5bba1eff43150c3e664f88fb57)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `3.0.5...4.1.2` | `~4.0.3` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/commit/752dfe3b1e5fecda53dae899b4a39e6fed5a1a17)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `3.0.0...3.0.4` | `~4.0.1` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/commit/1af3267e3f5f7884214cf2ca4d5282d620092fb0)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `2.3.0...2.5.0` | `~3.4.0` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io/commit/cf39362014f5ff13a17168b74772c43920d6e4fd)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | ### Dependency analysis for the `socket.io-client` package | `socket.io-client` version | `socket.io-parser` version | Covered? | |----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------| | `4.5.0...latest` | `~4.2.0` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/commit/b862924b7f1720979e5db2f0154906b305d420e3)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `4.3.0...4.4.1` | `~4.1.1` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/commit/91b948b8607166fcc79f028a6428819277214188)) | No, but the impact is very limited | | `3.1.0...4.2.0` | `~4.0.4` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/commit/5d9b4eb42b1f5778e6f033096694acb331b132c4)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `3.0.5` | `~4.0.3` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/commit/cf9fc358365cc15a41260a51dc186c881bf086ca)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `3.0.0...3.0.4` | `~4.0.1` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/commit/b7e07ba633ceb9c1dc94cc894c10b9bfca536c7a)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: | | `2.2.0...2.5.0` | `~3.3.0` ([ref](https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/commit/06e9a4ca2621176c30c352b2ba8b34fa42b8d0ba)) | Yes :heavy_check_mark: |

Advisory Timeline

  • First published October 26, 2022 (1447 days ago).
  • Last revised November 8, 2023 — 378 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

npm
Update socket.io-parser to 4.2.1 or later
npm install socket.io-parser@4.2.1
npm
Update socket.io-parser to 4.0.5 or later
npm install socket.io-parser@4.0.5
npm
Update socket.io-parser to 3.3.3 or later
npm install socket.io-parser@3.3.3
npm
Update socket.io-parser to 3.4.2 or later
npm install socket.io-parser@3.4.2

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (4)

Affects 1 ecosystem: npm (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
socket.io-parser
npm
All versions4.2.1
socket.io-parser
npm
All versions4.0.5
socket.io-parser
npm
All versions3.3.3
socket.io-parser
npm
All versions3.4.2

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.8 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-2421?
Insufficient validation when decoding a Socket.IO packet This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.8/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2022-2421?
CVE-2022-2421 affects socket.io-parser. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2022-2421 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.8

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-qm95-pgcg-qqfq

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