CVE-2021-37714: Crafted input may cause the jsoup HTML and XML parser to get stuck, timeout, or throw unchecked exceptions

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2021-37714 is a high (CVSS 7.5) Uncaught Exception vulnerability in jhy jsoup. EPSS estimates a 6.69% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 93.9% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 18-08-2021
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 08-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

jsoup is a Java library for working with HTML. Those using jsoup versions prior to 1.14.2 to parse untrusted HTML or XML may be vulnerable to DOS attacks. If the parser is run on user supplied input, an attacker may supply content that causes the parser to get stuck (loop indefinitely until cancelled), to complete more slowly than usual, or to throw an unexpected exception. This effect may support a denial of service attack. The issue is patched in version 1.14.2. There are a few available workarounds. Users may rate limit input parsing, limit the size of inputs based on system resources, and/or implement thread watchdogs to cap and timeout parse runtimes.

• CWE-248Uncaught ExceptionAn exception is thrown from a function, but it is not caught.
• CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit ConditionThe product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.