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Critical HTTP/2 Vulnerabilities Discovered

Posted: August 4, 2016 to News.

Tags: Malware, Data Breach, Cloud Security

After being launched in May of last year, many people have been under the impression that the HTTP/2 is more secure than the more common HTTP. Google even started bundling it with its SPDY protocol in an effort to speed up web surfing. Unfortunately, data security researchers at Imperva have published a report outlining four major vulnerabilities in HTTP/2 that could allow hackers to do everything from putting servers in an infinite loop to outright crashing them. HTTP/2 consists of three distinct layers. First, there’s a transmission layer that handles things like streams and flow control. The second layer is the HPACK binary encoding and compression protocol. Lastly, there’s the semantic layer, which is basically a version of HTTP/1.1 with the addition of server-push capabilities. With that in mind here are the four flaws that have been found:
  1. Slow Read. You may have heard of the Slowloris DDos attack on major credit processors in 2010. As it turns out, a variation of the attack that involves a malicious client very slowly reading responses has been found on virtually all of the most popular web servers.
  2. HPACK Bomb. Similar to a zip bomb or decompression bomb, an HPACK bomb is a compression layer attack that essentially involves sending a message that appears to be small, but unpacks to be gigabytes worth of data. All that information takes up all the available server memory resources and either slows it down or causes it to crash outright.
  3. Dependency Cycle Attack. By taking advantage of HTTP/2’s control mechanisms for network optimization, it’s possible for hackers to use special requests to create an infinite loop that can be used in a DoS attack.
  4. Stream Multiplexing. This another DoS attack vector that involves crashing a server by taking advantage of the stream multiplexing functionality.
Fortunately, Imperva researchers have offered a fix. By using a web application firewall with virtual patching capabilities it’s possible to mitigate so of the possibility of attack.

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About the Author

Craig Petronella, CEO and Founder of Petronella Technology Group
CEO, Founder & AI Architect, Petronella Technology Group

Craig Petronella founded Petronella Technology Group in 2002 and has spent more than 30 years working at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, compliance, and digital forensics. He holds the CMMC Registered Practitioner credential (RP-1372) issued by the Cyber AB, is an NC Licensed Digital Forensics Examiner (License #604180-DFE), and completed MIT Professional Education programs in AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. Craig also holds CompTIA Security+, CCNA, and Hyperledger certifications.

He is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author of 15+ books on cybersecurity and compliance, host of the Encrypted Ambition podcast (95+ episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon), and a cybersecurity keynote speaker with 200+ engagements at conferences, law firms, and corporate boardrooms. Craig serves as Contributing Editor for Cybersecurity at NC Triangle Attorney at Law Magazine and is a guest lecturer at NCCU School of Law. He has served as a digital forensics expert witness in federal and state court cases involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency fraud, SIM-swap attacks, and data breaches.

Under his leadership, Petronella Technology Group has served 2,500+ clients, maintained a zero-breach record among compliant clients, earned a BBB A+ rating every year since 2003, and been featured as a cybersecurity authority on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and WRAL. The company leverages SOC 2 Type II certified platforms and specializes in AI implementation, managed cybersecurity, CMMC/HIPAA/SOC 2 compliance, and digital forensics for businesses across the United States.

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