CVE-2023-40743 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.apache.axis:axis. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.
Apache Axis 1.x (EOL) may allow RCE when untrusted input is passed to getService
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-40743.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.axis:axis☕axis:axisReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** When integrating Apache Axis 1.x in an application, it may not have been obvious that looking up a service through "ServiceFactory.getService" allows potentially dangerous lookup mechanisms such as LDAP. When passing untrusted input to this API method, this could expose the application to DoS, SSRF and even attacks leading to RCE.
As Axis 1 has been EOL we recommend you migrate to a different SOAP engine, such as Apache Axis 2/Java. As a workaround, you may review your code to verify no untrusted or unsanitized input is passed to "ServiceFactory.getService", or by applying the patch from https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/7e66753427466590d6def0125e448d2791723210 . The Apache Axis project does not expect to create an Axis 1.x release fixing this problem, though contributors that would like to work towards this are welcome.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.axis:axis | all versions | No fix |
| ☕Maven | axis:axis | all versions | No fix |
Affected Products
axisapacheDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.axis:axis, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of org.apache.axis:axis for CVE-2023-40743. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
Restrict outbound requests from the affected component to an allowlist of hosts, block access to link-local and internal address ranges at the network layer, and require authentication on internal services so a forged request cannot reach them unauthenticated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-40743 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.