CVE-2024-51132 — org.hl7.fhir.convertors
CRITICALCVE-2024-51132 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors. A fix is available for ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors — see the affected versions and patch details below.
HAPI FHIR XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability
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.
- 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.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-51132.
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-2024-51132 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities+1 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
An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in HAPI FHIR before v6.4.0 allows attackers to access sensitive information or execute arbitrary code via supplying a crafted request containing malicious XML entities.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors:6.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2:6.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may:6.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3:6.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4 | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4:6.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b:6.4.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.convertors to 6.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-51132 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-2024-51132 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-51132. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
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 Hat Build of Apache Camel K provides support for a select group of extensions for Camel Quarkus. As FHIR is not on this list, it is marked as out of support scope. Consult the external references section for the list of supported Camel Quarkus extension. While Red Hat Fuse 7 includes a vulnerable version of FHIR,…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.4.4 for Spring Boot | org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 | RHSA-2024:9806 |
| Red Hat Build of Apache Camel 4.4 for Quarkus 3.8 | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir-org.hl7.fhir.utilities | RHSA-2024:10035 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-51132 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-51132 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.