CVE-2024-8184 is a vulnerability categorized under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) found in the Eclipse Foundation's Jetty web server, specifically in the ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote() method. Jetty is a widely used Java-based HTTP server and servlet container employed in many enterprise and cloud environments. The flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to send specially crafted HTTP requests that cause the server to allocate excessive memory resources. This leads to OutOfMemory errors, effectively exhausting the server's memory and causing a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability affects multiple Jetty versions: 9.3.12, 10.0.0, 11.0.0, and 12.0.0, indicating a broad impact across recent releases. The CVSS v3.1 score is 5.9 (medium), reflecting that while no privileges or user interaction are needed, the attack complexity is high due to the need for crafted requests. The vulnerability solely impacts availability, with no direct effect on confidentiality or integrity. No patches are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the risk remains significant for organizations running vulnerable Jetty instances exposed to untrusted networks. The vulnerability highlights the importance of resource management in server components that handle remote requests to prevent exhaustion attacks.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-8184 is the risk of remote denial-of-service attacks against web services and applications running on vulnerable Jetty servers. This can lead to service outages, degraded performance, and potential disruption of business-critical applications, especially those exposed to the internet or untrusted networks. Industries relying heavily on web infrastructure, such as finance, telecommunications, government services, and cloud providers, could experience operational interruptions. The lack of confidentiality or integrity impact means data breaches are unlikely, but service availability is critical for compliance with regulations like GDPR that mandate service continuity and data availability. Additionally, prolonged outages could damage reputation and customer trust. The medium severity rating suggests that while the threat is serious, exploitation requires some effort and specific conditions, providing a window for mitigation. However, organizations with high traffic or automated attack detection may face increased risk if attackers leverage this vulnerability to cause resource exhaustion.

1. Monitor Jetty server resource usage closely, focusing on memory consumption patterns and thread counts to detect abnormal spikes indicative of exploitation attempts. 2. Implement request rate limiting and connection throttling at the network edge or within Jetty to reduce the impact of crafted request floods. 3. Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) or Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) capable of detecting and blocking suspicious request patterns targeting ThreadLimitHandler.getRemote(). 4. Isolate Jetty servers behind reverse proxies or load balancers that can absorb or filter excessive traffic. 5. Regularly update Jetty to patched versions once they become available from the Eclipse Foundation, as no patches are currently linked. 6. Conduct penetration testing and fuzzing on Jetty instances to identify potential resource exhaustion vectors proactively. 7. Review and harden server configurations to limit maximum thread pools and memory allocation where feasible without impacting legitimate traffic. 8. Maintain an incident response plan specifically addressing DoS scenarios to minimize downtime and recovery time. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on resource monitoring, traffic filtering, and proactive testing tailored to this vulnerability's characteristics.