http4k up to 5.40.x xml external entity reference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in http4k up to 5.40.x and classified as problematic. The impacted element is an unknown function. Performing a manipulation results in xml external entity reference. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2024-55875. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in http4k up to 5.40.x. This affects an unknown part. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a xml external entity reference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-611. The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to version 6.50.0.0, there is a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability when http4k handling malicious XML contents within requests, which might allow attackers to read local sensitive information on server, trigger Server-side Request Forgery and even execute code under some circumstances. The original fix shipped in v5.41.0.0 / v4.50.0.0 closed the documented external-entity attack class (SSRF, local-file disclosure, code execution) by setting `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD=""`, `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA=""`, and `isExpandEntityReferences=false` on the default `DocumentBuilderFactory`. A residual gap remained: the parser still accepted documents containing `<!DOCTYPE>` declarations even though external entity resolution was blocked. This left open billion-laughs-style internal entity expansion DoS attacks against any application using `Body.xml()` or `Document.asXmlDocument()` on untrusted XML. v6.50.0.0 closes this residual by adding `disallow-doctype-decl=true` and `FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING=true` to `defaultXmlParsingConfig`. Any document containing a `<!DOCTYPE>` is now rejected at parse time.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2024-55875 since 12/11/2024. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

Upgrading to version 5.41.0.0 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 35297adc6d6aca4951d50d8cdf17ff87a8b19fbc is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

• http4k

Version

• 5.0
• 5.1
• 5.2
• 5.3
• 5.4
• 5.5
• 5.6
• 5.7
• 5.8
• 5.9
• 5.10
• 5.11
• 5.12
• 5.13
• 5.14
• 5.15
• 5.16
• 5.17
• 5.18
• 5.19
• 5.20
• 5.21
• 5.22
• 5.23
• 5.24
• 5.25
• 5.26
• 5.27
• 5.28
• 5.29
• 5.30
• 5.31
• 5.32
• 5.33
• 5.34
• 5.35
• 5.36
• 5.37
• 5.38
• 5.39
• 5.40

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/http4k/http4k/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion