CVE-2024-38828 is a denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability affecting Spring Framework version 5.3.x, specifically targeting Spring MVC controller methods that accept a @RequestBody parameter of type byte[]. The vulnerability arises because the processing of such byte array inputs can be exploited to cause excessive resource consumption, leading to service degradation or unavailability. The root cause is related to improper handling of input data size or processing logic that allows an attacker to send specially crafted HTTP requests with large or malformed byte array payloads, overwhelming the server's memory or CPU resources. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400, which corresponds to uncontrolled resource consumption. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N/I:N), and impact limited to availability (A:L). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on November 18, 2024, and assigned by VMware.

For European organizations using Spring Framework 5.3.x in their web applications, this vulnerability poses a risk of denial-of-service attacks that could disrupt business operations by rendering critical services unavailable. Since Spring is widely used in enterprise Java applications across Europe, especially in sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and e-commerce, an attacker could exploit this flaw to degrade service availability, causing operational downtime and potential financial losses. The lack of required authentication or user interaction means that attackers can launch these DoS attacks remotely and anonymously over the network, increasing the risk profile. Although the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the availability impact can affect customer trust, regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR mandates on service continuity), and incident response costs. Organizations with high-traffic public-facing APIs or microservices using @RequestBody byte[] parameters are particularly vulnerable.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Immediately review their Spring MVC controller methods for usage of @RequestBody parameters of type byte[] and assess exposure. 2) Implement input size limits and request throttling at the application or web server level to prevent resource exhaustion from large or malformed payloads. 3) Apply strict validation and sanitization of incoming request bodies to detect and reject suspicious payloads early. 4) Monitor application performance and resource usage to detect anomalous spikes indicative of DoS attempts. 5) Stay alert for official patches or updates from the Spring project and plan prompt application of security updates once available. 6) Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to block or rate-limit suspicious requests targeting vulnerable endpoints. 7) Conduct penetration testing and code reviews focused on resource consumption vulnerabilities in affected applications. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on specific code patterns (@RequestBody byte[]), proactive monitoring, and layered defense strategies.