CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2016-8744 — Apache Brooklyn uses the SnakeYAML library for parsing YAML inputs

High CVSS 9

Apache Brooklyn uses the SnakeYAML library for parsing YAML inputs. SnakeYAML allows the use of YAML tags to indicate that SnakeYAML should unmarshal data to a Java type. In the default configuration in Brooklyn before 0.10.0, SnakeYAML will allow unmarshalling to any Java type available on the classpath. This could provide an authenticated user with a means to cause the JVM running Brooklyn to load and run Java code without detection by Brooklyn. Such code would have the privileges of the Java process running Brooklyn, including the ability to open files and network connections, and execute system commands. There is known to be a proof-of-concept exploit using this vulnerability.

Severity
High
CVSS
9 (2.0)
Published
2017-09-13
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
java/maven
Weaknesses
CWE-502

Affected products

  • apache / brooklyn

Matched remediation archetype

Unsafe deserialization and object reconstruction

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Check exposure

  • Inventory serialization formats accepted from requests, queues, caches, files, cookies, and cross-service messages.
  • Trace whether untrusted input can select classes, types, callbacks, constructors, or object hooks during decoding.
  • Identify signing, schema validation, trust-boundary, and compatibility settings for each decoder.

Remediate safely

  • Replace native object deserialization with a data-only format and explicit schema validation.
  • If replacement is not immediate, use a safe decoder with a minimal type allowlist and disable polymorphic or executable hooks.
  • Update the affected library and add inert tests for unknown types, extra fields, malformed nesting, and unsigned data.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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