Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessSubmit crafted ~100-byte class file to parser
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ExploitInflated num_bootstrap_methods bypasses attribute_length check
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ExecutionClassReader allocates ~2GB int array
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ImpactOutOfMemoryError crashes JVM or consuming thread
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory allocation limits
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| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an application built on OW2 ASM (versions 5.0 up to but not including 9.11) to invoke ClassReader on an attacker-controlled class file; the malicious file must carry a BootstrapMethods attribute whose num_bootstrap_methods field is inflated relative to the real attribute_length, which ASM fails to validate before allocating the int array. The practical limiting factor is that the victim process must accept and parse untrusted bytecode - applications that only process trusted, locally-generated class files are not exposed. Impact is bounded to availability: a recoverable OutOfMemoryError crashing the JVM or the parsing thread, with no code execution, data disclosure, or integrity impact. |
| Impact | The input CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H) scores 6.8 (medium) and describes a pure availability impact - no confidentiality or integrity loss - consistent with CWE-789 and the Denial Of Service classification. The locally-oriented vector plus passive user interaction (UI:P) means the condition is that the victim application must actually read an attacker-supplied class file, which sharply limits mass/automated exploitation compared to a network-unauthenticated RCE. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC was provided in the input, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation; the only strong signal is the vendor-confirmed patch and the VulnCheck advisory. Signals are largely consistent (medium severity, DoS-only, no exploitation telemetry) rather than conflicting. One caveat to verify: the vector is marked AV:L, but ASM is a library and in server deployments that accept remotely-supplied bytecode (plugin/JAR upload, remote agents) the practical attack vector could be network - defenders should assess whether their ASM-consuming application ingests untrusted class files from remote sources. Overall this is a genuine but moderate-priority availability bug, not a high-urgency widely-weaponized flaw. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An application that uses ASM to parse untrusted bytecode - such as a plugin loader, Java agent, static-analysis/obfuscation tool, or build pipeline processing uploaded JARs - receives a crafted class file of roughly 100 bytes whose BootstrapMethods attribute declares a huge num_bootstrap_methods without a matching attribute_length. When ClassReader.readBootstrapMethodsAttribute() sizes an int array from that count, it attempts a ~2 GB allocation, triggering an OutOfMemoryError that crashes the JVM or the consuming thread. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, though the trivial, well-described trigger makes reproduction straightforward. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Denial of service in OW2 ASM 5.0 through 9.10.x allows an attacker who can supply a crafted Java class file to trigger excessive memory allocation while ClassReader parses a BootstrapMethods attribute, causing an OutOfMemoryError that crashes the JVM or the consuming thread. This is a pure availability issue (CVSS 6.8, CWE-789) with no code execution, data disclosure, or integrity impact, and it requires the victim application to parse untrusted bytecode (PR:N, UI:P/UI:R). No public exploit was identified at time of analysis; a vendor patch is available.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to OW2 ASM 9.11 or later, which is the first version outside the stated affected range (5.0 before 9.11); the vendor patch is referenced in merge request https://gitlab.ow2.org/asm/asm/-/merge_requests/456 and commit https://gitlab.ow2.org/asm/asm/-/commit/eb5fa95bb0670eaec2ecf9b8a3a501b48e5a967c, with version details at https://asm.ow2.io/versions.html. If upgrading immediately is not possible, do not pass attacker-controlled or otherwise untrusted class files to ASM's ClassReader; constrain bytecode parsing to trusted, locally generated classes, and require upstream validation of BootstrapMethods attributes if untrusted bytecode must be accepted. Where untrusted bytecode processing cannot be avoided, run parsing in a separate JVM or worker process with a bounded heap and supervisor-based restart so that an OutOfMemoryError kills only the disposable parser rather than the main service, and apply time/size limits or sandboxing around the parse step; these compensating controls reduce exposure but do not eliminate the denial-of-service condition. See the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ow2-asm-5.0-before-9.11-excessive-memory-allocation-via-bootstrapmethods-attribute. No public exploit was identified at time of analysis.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
OW2 ASM is a Java bytecode manipulation and analysis library used by frameworks, build tools, and instrumentation agents to read, transform, and generate JVM class files. The vulnerable code path is ClassReader.readBootstrapMethodsAttribute(), which processes the BootstrapMethods attribute defined by the JVM class file format; it allocates an int array sized from the untrusted num_bootstrap_methods field without first validating it against the actual attribute_length. This is CWE-789 (Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value): a roughly 100-byte class file can declare an inflated method count and force an allocation on the order of 2 GB, producing a recoverable OutOfMemoryError rather than memory corruption. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:ow2:asm:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers the OW2 ASM library, with the affected range tied to versions 5.0 up to but not including 9.11; the linked source view at ASM_9_10_1 ClassReader.java line 3497 shows the pre-fix code, and the patch is in GitLab merge request 456 / commit eb5fa95bb0670eaec2ecf9b8a3a501b48e5a967c. The assessed impact is availability-only (VA:H) with no confidentiality or integrity loss, consistent with the Denial Of Service tag and CVSS 4.0 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:P.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
The library must be fed a crafted class file (UI:R) and the described trigger is a local parse operation (AV:L); no privileges are needed (PR:N) and impact is availability-only (A:H, C/I:N).
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
DescriptionCVE.org
OW2 ASM 5.0 before 9.11 contains an excessive memory allocation vulnerability in ClassReader.readBootstrapMethodsAttribute() that sizes an int array from num_bootstrap_methods without validating attribute_length. Attackers can supply a crafted class file of about 100 bytes that forces roughly 2 GB allocation, causing an OutOfMemoryError that crashes the JVM or consuming thread.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Excessive resource consumption in OW2 ASM versions 1.4.3 through 9.10.x allows an unauthenticated local attacker to trig
Denial of service in OW2 ASM versions 3.0 up to but not including 9.11 allows a crafted legacy class file with nested JS
Uncontrolled recursion in OW2 ASM's SignatureReader.parseType() lets an attacker crash any application that reads or tra
CPU exhaustion in the OW2 ASM Java bytecode library (versions 3.0 through 9.10.x) lets attackers who can supply crafted
Denial of service in OW2 ASM versions 3.0 through 9.10.x allows a crafted class file to exhaust JVM heap memory when an
Denial of service in OW2 ASM versions 3.0 through 9.10.x (prior to 9.11) allows an attacker to crash applications that t
Denial of service in OW2 ASM (versions 3.0 up to but not including 9.11) allows an attacker who can get a crafted Java c
Excessive memory allocation in the asm-commons AdviceAdapter of OW2 ASM (versions 3.1 through 9.10.x, fixed in 9.11) let
EUVD-2026-101211
GHSA-jv96-63p8-4rfx
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB