GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m
HIGHGHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-835 vulnerability in org.apache.poi:poi. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Denial of Service in Apache POI
Blast Radius
org.apache.poi:poiReal-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
Apache POI in versions prior to release 3.17 are vulnerable to Denial of Service Attacks:
- Infinite Loops while parsing crafted WMF, EMF, MSG and macros (POI bugs 61338 and 61294)
- Out of Memory Exceptions while parsing crafted DOC, PPT and XLS (POI bugs 52372 and 61295)
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.poi:poi | all versions | 3.17 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.poi:poi. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.apache.poi:poi to 3.17 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-523c-xh4g-mh5m across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.