SmallRye GraphQL BigInteger Magnitude Validation Flaw

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is in SmallRye GraphQL where the number scalar coercion for BigInteger fails to validate large float or string inputs. An attacker can send a GraphQL query with a large exponent float literal, causing the system to allocate extremely large BigInteger objects. This leads to CPU exhaustion or an OutOfMemoryError, resulting in a denial of service.

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Detection Guidance

Monitor for unusual CPU or memory usage spikes on systems running SmallRye GraphQL. Check GraphQL query logs for requests containing large exponent float literals or unusually large numeric inputs. Use JVM monitoring tools like jstat or VisualVM to detect OutOfMemoryError events or excessive heap allocation.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause your system to experience high CPU usage or run out of memory, leading to service disruptions or crashes. It may also allow unauthenticated remote attackers to disrupt your GraphQL service by sending specially crafted queries.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily causes denial of service through CPU exhaustion or system crashes, which could disrupt services handling sensitive data. For GDPR, availability impacts may affect data subject rights. For HIPAA, service disruptions could interfere with access to protected health information. However, the vulnerability itself does not directly violate these standards but may contribute to non-compliance if it leads to prolonged system unavailability affecting regulated data processing.

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Mitigation Strategies

Apply patches or updates to SmallRye GraphQL if available. Validate and bound the precision or exponent of incoming numeric literals before processing. Limit JVM heap size to constrain OutOfMemoryError impact. Implement rate-limiting or timeouts on the GraphQL endpoint. Use GraphQL variables instead of inline literals for numeric inputs.

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