CVE-2024-7592 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) found in the CPython implementation of the 'http.cookies' standard library module. The flaw occurs during the parsing of HTTP cookies that include backslashes used for quoting characters within the cookie value. The parser employs an algorithm with quadratic time complexity relative to the input size, which means that specially crafted cookie values can cause the CPU usage to increase disproportionately as the input length grows. This behavior can be exploited by an attacker to perform a denial-of-service (DoS) attack by sending maliciously crafted cookies to a Python-based web application or service that uses the vulnerable CPython versions (from 3.9.0 up to 3.13.0a1). The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity but severely impacts availability by exhausting CPU resources. The attack vector is remote with no privileges or user interaction required, making it easier to exploit. Although no public exploits are currently known, the vulnerability's high CVSS score of 7.5 reflects its potential impact. The lack of patches at the time of disclosure means organizations must rely on interim mitigations until official fixes are released.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-7592 is the risk of denial-of-service attacks against Python-based web applications and services that parse HTTP cookies using vulnerable CPython versions. This can lead to service outages, degraded performance, and potential disruption of business operations, especially for organizations relying on Python for critical infrastructure or customer-facing applications. The vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity but can cause significant availability issues. Sectors such as finance, healthcare, e-commerce, and government services, which often use Python for backend services, could face operational risks. Additionally, organizations with high traffic volumes or those exposed to the internet are more susceptible to exploitation attempts. The absence of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, as attackers may develop exploits once the vulnerability becomes widely known.

1. Monitor official Python Software Foundation channels for patches addressing CVE-2024-7592 and apply updates promptly once available. 2. As an interim measure, implement input validation to detect and reject suspicious cookie values containing excessive backslashes or unusual quoting patterns before they reach the vulnerable parser. 3. Deploy rate limiting and anomaly detection on HTTP requests to mitigate potential DoS attempts exploiting this vulnerability. 4. Consider using web application firewalls (WAFs) configured to block or challenge suspicious cookie headers. 5. For critical services, isolate or sandbox components that parse cookies to limit the impact of resource exhaustion. 6. Review and update incident response plans to include detection and mitigation strategies for resource exhaustion attacks. 7. Encourage developers to audit and refactor cookie parsing logic if custom implementations exist, to avoid similar complexity issues.