CVE-2024-43398

A vulnerability was found in REXML RubyGems. This package is vulnerable to denial of service (DoS) when parsing a deep XML structure with the same local name attribute. This vulnerability only affects tree parser API like REXML::Document.new, other parser APIs such as stream parser API and SAX2 parser API are not affected.

Moderate impact: Red Hat products in the current affected scope, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other products that ship the vulnerable REXML component, can be exposed to denial of service when an attacker supplies deeply nested XML with repeated local-name attributes to REXML's tree parser, such as REXML::Document.new. The recorded CVSS 3.1 score is 5.9 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), matching the upstream Moderate assessment and indicating availability impact without confidentiality or integrity impact. Stream parser and SAX2 parser APIs are not affected. The current affects data marks RHEL 10 not affected because the vulnerable code is not present. For delegated affects marked AFFECTED, the owning product teams are pursuing a fix; delegated WONTFIX affects have no fix recorded. The RHEL 9.6 ruby:3.1 affect is marked DEFER, so the fix is deferred for that stream and the residual risk remains denial of service when untrusted XML reaches the affected tree-parser path.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.