CVE-2022-40150 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-400, indicating uncontrolled resource consumption within the Jettison library, which is used for parsing JSON and XML data. The vulnerability arises when Jettison processes untrusted input data, allowing an attacker to craft malicious payloads that cause the parser to consume excessive memory resources. This can lead to an out-of-memory condition, causing the parser to crash and potentially resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. Since Jettison is often embedded in Java-based applications for data binding and serialization/deserialization tasks, any service or application that relies on it to parse external or user-supplied JSON or XML data is at risk. The vulnerability does not specify affected versions, which suggests it may be present in multiple or all versions prior to a patch. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date (September 16, 2022). The lack of a patch link indicates that remediation may require vendor updates or configuration changes. The attack vector involves sending specially crafted input to the parser, which does not require authentication or user interaction beyond the submission of the malicious data. The uncontrolled resource consumption can severely impact the availability of services relying on Jettison, especially under high load or in environments with limited memory resources.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the risk of denial of service attacks against applications and services that utilize Jettison for JSON or XML parsing. This could disrupt critical business operations, especially in sectors relying on real-time data processing or web services, such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and government services. The DoS condition could lead to service outages, degraded performance, and increased operational costs due to incident response and recovery efforts. Additionally, organizations with public-facing APIs or web applications that parse user input with Jettison are particularly vulnerable, potentially exposing them to targeted attacks by threat actors aiming to disrupt services or cause reputational damage. While confidentiality and integrity impacts are minimal or nonexistent, the availability impact is significant. The vulnerability could also be exploited as part of a larger attack chain to distract or overwhelm security teams. Given the widespread use of Java-based middleware and microservices in European enterprises, the scope of affected systems could be broad if Jettison is embedded in critical infrastructure or commercial software stacks.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should first identify all applications and services using the Jettison library for JSON or XML parsing. Since no specific patch is currently linked, organizations should monitor vendor advisories for updates or patches addressing CVE-2022-40150. In the interim, implement input validation and sanitization to restrict or reject untrusted or malformed JSON/XML payloads before they reach the Jettison parser. Employ resource limiting techniques such as setting memory usage caps or timeouts on parsing operations to prevent excessive resource consumption. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) or API gateways with rules to detect and block anomalous or oversized payloads targeting parsing endpoints. Additionally, isolate parsing services in containerized or sandboxed environments to limit the impact of potential crashes. Regularly monitor application logs and system metrics for signs of memory exhaustion or crashes related to parsing activities. Finally, incorporate this vulnerability into incident response plans and conduct security awareness training for developers to avoid unsafe parsing practices.