GHSA-g4w2-6h2r-3m3w
http4k: Unbounded gzip decompression in `ServerFilters.GZip` / `RequestFilters.GunZip` allowed memory-exhaustion DoS
Quick fix
GHSA-g4w2-6h2r-3m3w — org.http4k:http4k-core: upgrade to the fixed version with the command below.
# pom.xml: bump <version>6.49.0.0</version> for org.http4k:http4k-core Details
### Impact
`ServerFilters.GZip` and `RequestFilters.GunZip` (and the underlying `Gzip` functions used to decompress request bodies) did not impose any cap on the decompressed size. A small malicious gzip-encoded request body (on the order of kilobytes) could decompress to gigabytes, exhausting the JVM heap and denying service to other clients.
**Who is affected:** any http4k server that accepts gzip-encoded requests via `ServerFilters.GZip` or `RequestFilters.GunZip`. Exploitable by any unauthenticated client. The vulnerability was introduced on 2017-08-01 (commit `2618fe08f9`) and was present for ~9 years.
### Patches
| Line | Fixed in | Edition | |------|----------|---------| | v6.x (Community) | **6.49.0.0** | Community | | v5.x (LTS) | **5.42.0.0** | Enterprise — contact [enterprise@http4k.org](mailto:enterprise@http4k.org) | | v4.x (LTS) | **4.51.0.0** | Enterprise — contact [enterprise@http4k.org](mailto:enterprise@http4k.org) |
The fix caps decompression at 10MB by default; oversized requests through `ServerFilters.GZip` / `RequestFilters.GunZip` now return `413 Request Entity Too Large`, and decompressing elsewhere throws `SizeLimitExceededException`. The keyed `hmacSHA256` helper and other safe paths are unaffected.
### Workarounds
For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately: - Replace the `GZip` / `GunZip` filters with custom versions that wrap the decompressed `InputStream` in a size-limited reader, or - Strip gzip-encoded request support at the edge (CDN, reverse proxy, or load balancer).
### References
- Vulnerability introduced: [`2618fe08f9`](https://github.com/http4k/http4k/commit/2618fe08f9) - Fix release: [v6.49.0.0](https://github.com/http4k/http4k/releases/tag/6.49.0.0) - Background: [CWE-409 — Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/409.html)
Are you affected?
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Affected packages
6.0.0.0 Fixed in: 6.49.0.0 # pom.xml: bump <version>6.49.0.0</version> for org.http4k:http4k-core 5.0.0.0 Fixed in: 5.42.0.0 # pom.xml: bump <version>5.42.0.0</version> for org.http4k:http4k-core 0 No fixed version published yet for org.http4k:http4k-core (maven). Pin to a known-safe version or switch to an alternative.