CVE-2023-43795 — gs-wps-core
HIGHCVE-2023-43795 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.6) Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 67.7% (99th percentile). A fix is available for org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
WPS Server Side Request Forgery in GeoServer
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.
- 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-2023-43795.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-43795 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core☕org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-coreReal-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
Summary
The OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) specification is designed to process information from any server using GET and POST requests.
This presents the opportunity for Server Side Request Forgery.
Details
This vulnerability requires:
- The WPS extension to be installed
- The WPS security setting "Disable complex inputs" to be unselected
- Security URL checks to be disabled
Impact
This vulnerability presents the opportunity for Server Side Request Forgery.
Mitigation
The ability to reference an external URL location is defined by the WPS standard Execute operation. This operations is defined by an Industry and International standard and cannot be redefined by the GeoServer application in isolation.
To disable complex remote inputs on GeoServer 2.20.5 and GeoServer 2.21.0:
- Navigate to Security > WPS Security page
- Locate Complex Inputs heading
- Select the check box for Disable loading complex inputs from remote references
Resolution
To allow processing of complex inputs safely in GeoServer 2.22.5 and GeoServer 2.23.2:
- Navigate to Security > URL Checks
- Enable URL Checks are enabled setting
- Check the user manual for examples of how to trust specific locations for your external services.
Processing of complex inputs safely is on by default in GeoServer 2.24.0.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core | all versions | 2.22.5org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core:2.22.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core | ≥ 2.23.0&&< 2.23.2 | 2.23.2org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core:2.23.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.geoserver.extension:gs-wps-core to 2.22.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-43795 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-43795 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-43795. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2023-43795
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2023-43795 -u https://target- Template
- GeoServer WPS - Server Side Request Forgery
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Unauthenticated attackers can exploit SSRF through the WPS service to make arbitrary HTTP requests and access internal network resources, potentially compromising the entire GeoServer infrastructure and accessing sensitive geospatial data.
- Remediation
- Update GeoServer to version 2.22.5 or 2.23.2 or later that validates URLs in WPS requests and restricts access to authorized external resources only.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (DhiyaneshDK), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-43795 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-43795 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.