Executive brief
Apache Answer, a Q&A platform software, is vulnerable to a denial-of-service attack. An authenticated user can upload a specially crafted image file that causes the server to consume excessive memory and crash. This can lead to service outages and prevent legitimate users from accessing the platform.
Technical details
An unrestricted upload vulnerability (CWE-434) exists in Apache Answer through version 2.0.0. The application fails to properly validate or restrict the processing of certain image formats during decoding. An authenticated attacker can upload a maliciously crafted TIFF image that triggers excessive memory allocation during the decoding process, leading to an Out-of-Memory (OOM) condition and a crash of the server process. The fix, introduced in version 2.0.1, involves enhancing image decoding by implementing format-specific checks for safer types like JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
Affected products
- Apache Answer through 2.0.0
Timeline
- 2026-05-29: patched: Version 2.0.1 released
- 2026-06-09: disclosed: Public advisory published