Jetty SslConnection does not release pooled ByteBuffers in case of errors
Impact
SslConnection does not release ByteBuffers in case of error code paths.
For example, TLS handshakes that require client-auth with clients that send expired certificates will trigger a TLS handshake errors and the ByteBuffers used to process the TLS handshake will be leaked.
Workarounds
Configure explicitly a RetainableByteBufferPool with max[Heap|Direct]Memory to limit the amount of memory that is leaked.
Eventually the pool will be full of "active" entries (the leaked ones) and will provide ByteBuffers that will be GCed normally.
With embedded-jetty
int maxBucketSize = 1000;
long maxHeapMemory = 128 * 1024L * 1024L; // 128 MB
long maxDirectMemory = 128 * 1024L * 1024L; // 128 MB
RetainableByteBufferPool rbbp = new ArrayRetainableByteBufferPool(0, -1, -1, maxBucketSize, maxHeapMemory, maxDirectMemory);
server.addBean(rbbp); // make sure the ArrayRetainableByteBufferPool is added before the server is started
server.start();With jetty-home/jetty-base
Create a ${jetty.base}/etc/retainable-byte-buffer-config.xml
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE Configure PUBLIC "-//Jetty//Configure//EN" "https://www.eclipse.org/jetty/configure_10_0.dtd">
<Configure id="Server" class="org.eclipse.jetty.server.Server">
<Call name="addBean">
<Arg>
<New class="org.eclipse.jetty.io.ArrayRetainableByteBufferPool">
<Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.minCapacity" default="0"/></Arg>
<Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.factor" default="-1"/></Arg>
<Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxCapacity" default="-1"/></Arg>
<Arg type="int"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxBucketSize" default="1000"/></Arg>
<Arg type="long"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxHeapMemory" default="128000000"/></Arg>
<Arg type="long"><Property name="jetty.byteBufferPool.maxDirectMemory" default="128000000"/></Arg>
</New>
</Arg>
</Call>
</Configure>And then reference it in ${jetty.base}/start.d/retainable-byte-buffer-config.ini
etc/retainable-byte-buffer-config.xmlReferences
https://github.com/eclipse/jetty.project/issues/8161
For more information
- Email us at security@webtide.com
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server | >= 10.0.0, < 10.0.10, >= 11.0.0, < 11.0.10 | 10.0.10, 11.0.10 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-404- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server- Disclosed
- 07.07.2022
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 12:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-8mpp-f3f7-xc28 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.eclipse.jetty:jetty-server
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 29
- First → latest
- 10.2018 07.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 4
- High 10
- Medium 13
- Low 2
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 8
- 2019: 5
- 2020: 2
- 2021: 3
- 2022: 3
- 2023: 2
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 1
- 2026: 4
-
Jetty SslConnection does not release pooled ByteBuffers in case of errors this entry
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