CVE-2024-53990

When making any HTTP request, the automatically enabled and self-managed CookieStore (aka cookie jar) will silently replace explicitly defined Cookies with any that have the same name from the cookie jar. For services that operate with multiple users, this can result in one user's Cookie being used for another user's requests.

Details

This issue is described without security warnings here:

https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/issues/1964

A PR to fix this issue has been made:

https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/pull/2033

PoC

1. Add an auth Cookie to the CookieStore
   • This is identical to receiving an HTTP response that uses Set-Cookie, as shown in issue #1964 above.
2. Handle a different user's request where the same Cookie is provided as a passthrough, like a JWT, and attempt to use it by explicitly providing it.
3. Observe that the user's cookie in step 2 is passed as the Cookie in step 1.

Workaroud

You can avoid this issue by disabling the CookieStore during client creation:

DefaultAsyncHttpClientConfig.Builder clientBuilder = Dsl.config()
 .setCookieStore(null)
 // other configuration
 ;

This is generally going to be a problem for developers of backend services that implement third party auth features and use other features like token refresh. The moment a third party service responds by setting a cookie in the response, the CookieStore will effectively break almost every follow-up request (hopefully by being rejected, but possibly by revealing a different user's information).

If your service sets cookies based on the response that happens here, it's possible to lead to even greater levels of exposure.

The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access. Typical impact: unauthorized access to functions or data reserved for authenticated parties.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2024-53990? CVE-2024-53990 is a critical-severity improper authentication vulnerability in org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client (maven), affecting versions >= 2.1.0, < 2.12.4. It is fixed in 2.12.4, 3.0.1. The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access.
2. Which versions of org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client are affected by CVE-2024-53990? org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client (maven) versions >= 2.1.0, < 2.12.4 is affected.
3. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-53990? Yes. CVE-2024-53990 is fixed in 2.12.4, 3.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
4. Is CVE-2024-53990 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-53990 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
5. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-53990 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
6. How do I fix CVE-2024-53990?
   • Upgrade org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client to 2.12.4 or later
   • Upgrade org.asynchttpclient:async-http-client to 3.0.1 or later