Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Affected Play Framework apps can run out of memory when they bind deeply nested JSON into forms. For internet-facing apps, a single unauthenticated request can potentially crash the process, disrupting availability. The vendor patched this in Play 2.8.16 by adding a configurable JSON depth limit.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for externally reachable Play applications because the issue can take services offline. Prioritize internet-facing and business-critical apps, then internal services using affected versions.
Technical view
CVE-2022-31018 affects Play Framework 2.8.3 through 2.8.15 forms APIs. Form#bindFromRequest on JSON request bodies and Form#bind on JSON values can exhaust heap during form binding. If running on the default dispatcher with akka.jvm-exit-on-fatal-error enabled, the application process may crash.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Play Framework services using versions 2.8.3 to before 2.8.16, especially routes binding JSON request bodies to forms through default or JSON-capable body parsers.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector indicates network access, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. The supplied sources and KEV flag do not show active exploitation. Impact is availability loss, not confidentiality or integrity compromise.
Researcher notes
This is CWE-400 uncontrolled resource consumption in form binding, not JSON parsing generally. The documented vulnerable paths involve Play forms APIs with JSON bodies or values. Evidence supports availability impact only.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Play Framework to version 2.8.16 or later.
- Keep or tune the new global JSON depth limit if required.
- Use a narrower body parser when JSON request bodies are unnecessary.
- Review vendor advisory and release notes before rollout.
Validation and detection
- Confirm Play Framework version in build files or SBOM.
- Identify controllers using Form#bindFromRequest with JSON-capable body parsers.
- Identify direct Form#bind usage on JSON values.
- Check runtime logs for unexplained OutOfMemoryError or process crashes.
- Verify production runs Play 2.8.16+ or approved workaround.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-400: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-31018 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/playframework/playframework/security/advisories/GHSA-v8x6-59g4-5g3wCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/playframework/playframework/pull/11301CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/playframework/playframework/releases/tag/2.8.16CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
