# CVE-2018-12545: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server

> Remote attackers can cause denial of service in Eclipse Jetty by sending excessive HTTP/2 SETTINGS frames, exhausting server resources.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2026-BS31525, GHSA-h2f4-v4c4-6wx4

## What is CVE-2018-12545?

CVE-2018-12545 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Eclipse Jetty, published on 27 Mar 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Eclipse Jetty version 9.3.x and 9.4.x, the server is vulnerable to Denial of Service conditions if a remote client sends either large SETTINGs frames container containing many settings, or many small SETTINGs frames. The vulnerability is due to the additional CPU and memory allocations required to handle changed settings.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling), CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12545?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server` | Maven | From 9.3.0 | 9.3.25.v20180904 |
| `org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server` | Maven | From 9.3.0 | 9.3.25.v20180904 |
| `org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server` | Maven | From 9.4.0 | 9.4.12.v20180830 |
| `org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server` | Maven | From 9.4.0 | 9.4.12.v20180830 |

Products: Eclipse Jetty, Fedoraproject Fedora.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-12545?

Upgrade org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server to a fixed version for your release line: 9.3.25.v20180904 or 9.4.12.v20180830.

## Is CVE-2018-12545 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12545 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Eclipse Jetty

- [CVE-2016-4800](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4800/): Jetty contains an alias issue that could allow unauthenticated remote code execution due to specially crafted request (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-17638](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-17638/): Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release in Jetty Server (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2018-12538](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12538/): Access and integrity issue within Eclipse Jetty (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-10050](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-10050/): Digest authentication lossy encoding (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2025-5115](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5115/): MadeYouReset HTTP/2 vulnerability (high 7.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-12545 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-12545 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Eclipse Jetty, published on 27 Mar 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12545 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server (Maven): affected from 9.3.0; fixed in 9.3.25.v20180904
- org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server (Maven): affected from 9.3.0; fixed in 9.3.25.v20180904
- org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server (Maven): affected from 9.4.0; fixed in 9.4.12.v20180830
- org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server (Maven): affected from 9.4.0; fixed in 9.4.12.v20180830

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12545/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12545/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12545
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12545
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-12545

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12545/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.