How severe is CVE-2024-31573?

CVE-2024-31573 has a CVSS score of 4/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2024-31573?

CVE-2024-31573 affects the following packages: org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2024-31573?

Update org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core to 2.10.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-31573 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2024-31573 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2024-31573 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2024-31573 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2024-31573 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2024-31573?

CVE-2024-31573 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.3%, placing it in the 25th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2024-31573?

CVE-2024-31573 is classified as CWE-669 (CWE-669). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2024-31573 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2024-31573 was published on October 17, 2025 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2024-31573 — xmlunit-core

MEDIUMFix: xmlunit/xmlunit@b81d48b

CVE-2024-31573 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4) CWE-669 vulnerability in org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core. A fix is available for org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.

XMLUnit for Java has Insecure Defaults when Processing XSLT Stylesheets

Also known asGHSA-chfm-68vv-pvw5

Published

Oct 17, 2025

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 9, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-31573.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs25th percentile — riskier than 25% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

1 pkg affected

☕org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core

Real-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

Impact

When performing XSLT transformations XMLUnit for Java did not disable XSLT extension functions by default. Depending on the XSLT processor being used this could allow arbitrary code to be executed when XMLUnit is used to transform data with a stylesheet who's source can not be trusted. If the stylesheet can be provided externally this may even lead to a remote code execution.

Patches

Users are advised to upgrade to XMLUnit for Java 2.10.0 where the default has been changed by means of https://github.com/xmlunit/xmlunit/commit/b81d48b71dfd2868bdfc30a3e17ff973f32bc15b

Workarounds

XMLUnit's main use-case is performing tests on code that generates or processes XML. Most users will not use it to perform arbitrary XSLT transformations.

Users running XSLT transformations with untrusted stylesheets should explicitly use XMLUnit's APIs to pass in a pre-configured TraX TransformerFactory with extension functions disabled via features and attributes. The required setFactory or setTransformerFactory methods have been available since XMLUnit for Java 2.0.0.

References

Bug Report JAXP Security Guide

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core`	all versions	2.10.0`org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core:2.10.0`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.xmlunit:xmlunit-core to 2.10.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-31573 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.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate

Workaround published by Red Hat

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.

Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2024-31573 (CC BY 4.0)

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact When performing XSLT transformations XMLUnit for Java did not disable XSLT extension functions by default. Depending on the XSLT processor being used this could allow arbitrary code to be executed when XMLUnit is used to transform data with a stylesheet who's source can not be trusted. If the stylesheet can be provided externally this may even lead to a remote code execution. ## Patches Users are advised to upgrade to XMLUnit for Java 2.10.0 where the default has been changed by means of https://github.com/xmlunit/xmlunit/commit/b81d48b71dfd2868bdfc30a3e17ff973f32bc15b ### Workaro