CVE-2024-10821 identifies a Denial of Service vulnerability in the Invoke-AI server, version v5.0.1, specifically in the multipart request boundary processing logic at the /api/v1/images/upload endpoint. The vulnerability arises because the server fails to properly handle multipart boundaries when excessive characters are appended to the end of these boundaries. This leads to an infinite loop condition (classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition) during the parsing of multipart requests. As a result, the server consumes excessive CPU and memory resources, ultimately causing a complete denial of service for all users. The flaw can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers remotely, requiring no user interaction or privileges, making it highly accessible. The CVSS v3.0 score is 7.5 (high), reflecting the ease of exploitation and the significant impact on availability, though confidentiality and integrity remain unaffected. No patches or official fixes are currently published, and no exploits have been observed in the wild. The vulnerability affects all unspecified versions of Invoke-AI prior to a fix, and the affected endpoint is commonly used for uploading images, a core function of the Invoke-AI platform. This vulnerability could be leveraged to disrupt AI image generation services, impacting organizations relying on this technology for business or research purposes.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-10821 is the disruption of AI image generation services provided by Invoke-AI servers. This can lead to significant operational downtime, especially for companies integrating Invoke-AI into their workflows or customer-facing applications. The denial of service can halt business processes, delay project timelines, and degrade user experience. Organizations in sectors such as digital media, creative industries, research institutions, and AI development firms are particularly vulnerable. The lack of authentication requirement means attackers can launch attacks at scale from anywhere, increasing the risk of widespread service outages. Additionally, resource exhaustion on servers may lead to collateral impacts on other hosted services if infrastructure is shared. While no data breach or integrity compromise is indicated, the availability loss can cause reputational damage and financial losses. European entities with public-facing Invoke-AI endpoints are at heightened risk, especially if they lack robust network-level protections or input validation controls.

1. Immediate mitigation should focus on implementing strict input validation on multipart request boundaries to detect and reject malformed or excessively long boundary strings before processing. 2. Deploy rate limiting and request throttling on the /api/v1/images/upload endpoint to reduce the risk of resource exhaustion from repeated malicious requests. 3. Monitor server resource utilization and configure alerts for unusual CPU or memory spikes indicative of an ongoing attack. 4. Isolate the Invoke-AI service in a container or sandboxed environment with resource limits (CPU, memory) to prevent system-wide impact. 5. If possible, restrict access to the upload endpoint via network controls such as IP whitelisting or VPN access to reduce exposure. 6. Stay updated with Invoke-AI vendor communications for official patches or security updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 7. Consider implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious multipart boundary patterns. 8. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on multipart request handling to identify similar weaknesses.