GHSA-FCCG-MWVH-QQG4

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-08 18:14 – Updated: 2026-09-08 18:14
VLAI
Summary
Netty: Fragmented ClientHello records trigger quadratic pre-handshake reassembly in default SNI parsing
Details

Summary

Netty's default SNI entrypoint reparses and recopies previously received ClientHello fragments on every additional TLS handshake record. A remote peer can send a small first record that advertises a large ClientHello length and then drip the body in many tiny records, causing superlinear (quadratic) CPU work before the handshake completes. With 4095 one-byte fragments, the handler recopies 8,386,560 bytes from only 24,579 bytes on the wire — a 341× amplification ratio.

Affected Entrypoints

  • io.netty.handler.ssl.SniHandler — default constructors
  • io.netty.handler.ssl.SslClientHelloHandler — pre-handshake ClientHello aggregation path

Vulnerable Code Locations

  • handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SniHandler.java:85
  • handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java:75 (decode entry)
  • handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java:165 (handshakeBuffer.clear)
  • handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java:174 (writeBytes re-copy)
  • codec-base/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/codec/ByteToMessageDecoder.java:294 (cumulation retention)

Exploit Path

1. TCP connection → SniHandler → SslClientHelloHandler.decode
2. First record: TLS handshake header declaring large ClientHello length (e.g., 4096 bytes)
3. Attacker sends thousands of tiny follow-on handshake records (1 byte each)
4. On each fragment: handshakeBuffer.clear() + writeBytes() re-copies ALL accumulated body bytes
5. Total bytes copied = n*(n+1)/2 where n = number of body bytes → quadratic
6. Event-loop CPU exhausted before SslHandler takes over

Impact

  • Vulnerability Type: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity
  • An unauthenticated network attacker can drive disproportionate CPU consumption on the Netty event loop
  • Affects all Netty deployments using SniHandler for TLS termination (the default SNI path)
  • No privileges, user interaction, or special configuration required
  • Can degrade or stall TLS connection handling for all clients on the affected event loop
  • The attack requires only modest bandwidth (~25 KB) to trigger significant CPU work

Credits

Found by a security research team from the University of Sydney, focusing on detecting open source software vulnerabilities. Liyi Zhou: https://lzhou1110.github.io/ Ziyue Wang: https://zyy0530.github.io/ Strick: https://str1ckl4nd.github.io/ Maurice: https://maurice.busystar.org/ Chenchen Yu: https://7thparkk.github.io/

Severity
6.9 (Medium)
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 4.2.16.Final"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Maven",
        "name": "io.netty:netty-handler"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "4.2.0.Final"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "4.2.17.Final"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 4.1.136.Final"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Maven",
        "name": "io.netty:netty-handler"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "4.1.137.Final"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-75596"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-407"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-09-08T18:14:56Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-08-19T21:17:37Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "### Summary\n\nNetty\u0027s default SNI entrypoint reparses and recopies previously received ClientHello fragments on every additional TLS handshake record. A remote peer can send a small first record that advertises a large ClientHello length and then drip the body in many tiny records, causing **superlinear (quadratic) CPU work** before the handshake completes. With 4095 one-byte fragments, the handler recopies **8,386,560 bytes** from only **24,579 bytes** on the wire \u2014 a **341\u00d7 amplification** ratio.\n\n### Affected Entrypoints\n\n- `io.netty.handler.ssl.SniHandler` \u2014 default constructors\n- `io.netty.handler.ssl.SslClientHelloHandler` \u2014 pre-handshake ClientHello aggregation path\n\n### Vulnerable Code Locations\n\n- `handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SniHandler.java:85`\n- `handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java:75` (decode entry)\n- `handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java:165` (handshakeBuffer.clear)\n- `handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java:174` (writeBytes re-copy)\n- `codec-base/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/codec/ByteToMessageDecoder.java:294` (cumulation retention)\n\n### Exploit Path\n\n```\n1. TCP connection \u2192 SniHandler \u2192 SslClientHelloHandler.decode\n2. First record: TLS handshake header declaring large ClientHello length (e.g., 4096 bytes)\n3. Attacker sends thousands of tiny follow-on handshake records (1 byte each)\n4. On each fragment: handshakeBuffer.clear() + writeBytes() re-copies ALL accumulated body bytes\n5. Total bytes copied = n*(n+1)/2 where n = number of body bytes \u2192 quadratic\n6. Event-loop CPU exhausted before SslHandler takes over\n```\n\n### Impact\n\n- **Vulnerability Type:** Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity\n- An unauthenticated network attacker can drive disproportionate CPU consumption on the Netty event loop\n- Affects **all** Netty deployments using `SniHandler` for TLS termination (the default SNI path)\n- No privileges, user interaction, or special configuration required\n- Can degrade or stall TLS connection handling for all clients on the affected event loop\n- The attack requires only modest bandwidth (~25 KB) to trigger significant CPU work\n\n---\n### Credits\n\nFound by a security research team from the University of Sydney, focusing on detecting open source software vulnerabilities.\nLiyi Zhou: https://lzhou1110.github.io/\nZiyue Wang: https://zyy0530.github.io/\nStrick: https://str1ckl4nd.github.io/\nMaurice: https://maurice.busystar.org/\nChenchen Yu: https://7thparkk.github.io/",
  "id": "GHSA-fccg-mwvh-qqg4",
  "modified": "2026-09-08T18:14:56Z",
  "published": "2026-09-08T18:14:56Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-fccg-mwvh-qqg4"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-75596"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/pull/17213"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/pull/17217"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/1b5abc6443b63726c72cdd285af2feb7ddbb8ff7"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/9e0519239108a69b7e9bbc5e9182ee139a0d7961"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/releases/tag/netty-4.1.137.Final"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/releases/tag/netty-4.2.17.Final"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Netty: Fragmented ClientHello records trigger quadratic pre-handshake reassembly in default SNI parsing"
}



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