CVE-2022-40149 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability identified in the Jettison library, which is used for parsing XML and JSON data. The vulnerability arises when Jettison processes untrusted input, potentially allowing an attacker to craft maliciously formed XML or JSON content that triggers a stack overflow during parsing. This overflow can cause the parser to crash, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-121, which refers to stack-based buffer overflows, a common and critical class of memory corruption issues. Although the affected versions are unspecified, the vulnerability impacts any deployment of Jettison that parses untrusted data without adequate input validation or sandboxing. No public exploits have been reported in the wild, and no patches or fixes have been linked in the provided data. The vulnerability does not appear to allow for code execution or privilege escalation but can disrupt service availability by crashing the parser. Exploitation requires the attacker to supply crafted input to the parser, which may be exposed in web applications, APIs, or services that rely on Jettison for data processing. Given that the attack vector involves user-supplied input, the vulnerability is exploitable remotely if the parser is exposed to external data sources. The lack of authentication or complex user interaction requirements further lowers the barrier for exploitation. However, the impact is limited to denial of service rather than data breach or integrity compromise.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2022-40149 is the potential for denial of service attacks against applications or services that utilize the Jettison library for XML or JSON parsing. This could disrupt business operations, especially for organizations relying on real-time data processing, APIs, or web services that accept external input. Sectors such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government services could experience service outages or degraded performance, affecting customer trust and regulatory compliance. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise confidentiality or data integrity, the availability impact could lead to operational downtime, financial losses, and reputational damage. Organizations with high availability requirements or those operating critical infrastructure may be particularly vulnerable. Additionally, if the affected services are part of larger supply chains or interconnected systems, the DoS could have cascading effects. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity rating indicates that organizations should proactively address this vulnerability to prevent potential exploitation.

To mitigate CVE-2022-40149, European organizations should first identify all instances where the Jettison library is used, particularly in components that parse XML or JSON data from untrusted sources. Since no official patches are referenced, organizations should consider the following specific actions: 1) Implement strict input validation and sanitization to reject malformed or excessively large XML/JSON payloads before they reach the parser. 2) Employ runtime protections such as stack canaries, address space layout randomization (ASLR), and control flow integrity (CFI) to reduce the impact of buffer overflows. 3) Use sandboxing or containerization to isolate parsing processes, limiting the blast radius of a potential crash. 4) Monitor application logs and implement anomaly detection to identify unusual parsing failures or crashes indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Where feasible, replace or upgrade Jettison with alternative, actively maintained parsing libraries that have addressed similar vulnerabilities. 6) Establish rate limiting and input size restrictions on endpoints accepting XML/JSON data to reduce exposure. 7) Develop and test incident response plans for denial of service scenarios involving parsing components. These targeted measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific nature of the vulnerability and the operational context of Jettison usage.