CVE-2024-36404 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-95 vulnerability in org.geotools:gt-app-schema. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 76.1% (100th percentile). A fix is available for org.geotools:gt-app-schema — see the affected versions and patch details below.
GeoTools Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in evaluating XPath expressions
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-2024-36404.
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-2024-36404 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 376,715 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.geotools:gt-app-schema☕org.geotools:gt-complex☕org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core☕org.geotools:gt-app-schema☕org.geotools:gt-complex☕org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core☕org.geotools:gt-app-schema☕org.geotools:gt-complex+4 moreReal-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
GeoTools is an open source Java library that provides tools for geospatial data. Prior to versions 31.2, 30.4, and 29.6, Remote Code Execution (RCE) is possible if an application uses certain GeoTools functionality to evaluate XPath expressions supplied by user input. Versions 31.2, 30.4, and 29.6 contain a fix for this issue. As a workaround, GeoTools can operate with reduced functionality by removing the gt-complex jar from one's application. As an example of the impact, application schema datastore would not function without the ability to use XPath expressions to query complex content. Alternatively, one may utilize a drop-in replacement GeoTools jar from SourceForge for versions 31.1, 30.3, 30.2, 29.2, 28.2, 27.5, 27.4, 26.7, 26.4, 25.2, and 24.0. These jars are for download only and are not available from maven central, intended to quickly provide a fix to affected applications.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-app-schema | ≥ 30.0&&< 30.4 | 30.4org.geotools:gt-app-schema:30.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-complex | ≥ 30.0&&< 30.4 | 30.4org.geotools:gt-complex:30.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core | ≥ 30.0&&< 30.4 | 30.4org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core:30.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-app-schema | ≥ 31.0&&< 31.2 | 31.2org.geotools:gt-app-schema:31.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-complex | ≥ 31.0&&< 31.2 | 31.2org.geotools:gt-complex:31.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core | ≥ 31.0&&< 31.2 | 31.2org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core:31.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geotools:gt-app-schema, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.geotools:gt-app-schema to 30.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-36404 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-2024-36404 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-36404. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2024-36404
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2024-36404 -u https://target- Template
- GeoServer and GeoTools - Remote Code Execution
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary code remotely via XPath expression exploitation in GeoTools functionality.
- Remediation
- Update GeoServer and GeoTools to versions 31.2, 30.4, or 29.6 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (ritikchaddha, darses), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-36404 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-36404 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.