CVE-2025-30220 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 43.6% (99th percentile). A fix is available for org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app — see the affected versions and patch details below.
GeoTools, GeoServer, and GeoNetwork XML External Entity (XXE) Processing Vulnerability in XSD schema handling
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-2025-30220.
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.geoserver.web:gs-web-app☕org.geoserver:gs-wfs☕org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app☕org.geoserver:gs-wfs☕org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app☕org.geoserver:gs-wfsReal-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
GeoServer Web Feature Service (WFS) web service was found to be vulnerable to GeoTools CVE-2025-30220 XML External Entity (XXE) processing attack.
It is possible to trigger the parsing of external DTDs and entities, bypassing standard entity resolvers. This allows for Out-of-Band (OOB) data exfiltration of local files accessible by the GeoServer process, and Service Side Request Forgery (SSRF).
Details
While direct entity resolution is managed by application property ENTITY_RESOLUTION_ALLOWLIST for XML Parsing, this restriction was not being used by the GeoTools library when building an in-memory XSD Library Schema representation.
This bypasses GeoServer's AllowListEntityResolver enabling XXE attacks.
PoC
No public PoC is provided but this vulnerability has been confirmed to be exploitable through WFS service.
Impact
-
Information Disclosure:
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files from the server's filesystem that are accessible to the GeoServer process.
This can lead to exposure of sensitive information including configuration files, credentials, and system files. The attack can be performed remotely without authentication, making it particularly severe.
-
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
The mechanism inherently allows forcing GeoServer to make HTTP requests to arbitrary URLs, enabling SSRF attacks against internal network resources
References
- CVE-2025-30220 XML External Entity (XXE) Processing Vulnerability in XSD schema handling
- External Entities Resolution (GeoServer User Manual)
Acknowledgements
This vulnerability was initially reported via an automated tool described below. Subsequently a duplicate report via @YacineF, and their patience working with the GeoServer project, was instrumental finding in escalating this issue and determining a resolution.
XBOW-025-068 Disclaimer
This vulnerability was detected using XBOW, a system that autonomously finds and exploits potential security vulnerabilities. The finding has been thoroughly reviewed and validated by a security researcher before submission. While XBOW is intended to work autonomously, during its development human experts ensure the accuracy and relevance of its reports.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | ≥ 2.27.0&&< 2.27.1 | 2.27.1org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.27.1 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver:gs-wfs | ≥ 2.27.0&&< 2.27.1 | 2.27.1org.geoserver:gs-wfs:2.27.1 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | ≥ 2.26.0&&< 2.26.3 | 2.26.3org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.26.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver:gs-wfs | ≥ 2.26.0&&< 2.26.3 | 2.26.3org.geoserver:gs-wfs:2.26.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | all versions | 2.25.7org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.25.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver:gs-wfs | all versions | 2.25.7org.geoserver:gs-wfs:2.25.7 |
Affected Products
geotoolsgeotoolsgeonetworkosgeogeoserverosgeoDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app to 2.27.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-30220 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
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.
How to detect CVE-2025-30220
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2025-30220 -u https://target- Template
- GeoServer WFS - XXE Processing Vulnerability
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Unauthenticated attackers can exploit XXE vulnerabilities in GeoServer WFS to perform OOB data exfiltration and SSRF attacks, potentially accessing internal services and sensitive data.
- Remediation
- Upgrade to the latest GeoServer version that properly disables external entity processing in WFS requests.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (iamnoooob, pdresearch, darses), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-30220 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.