GHSA-8c3x-hq82-gjcm
HIGHGHSA-8c3x-hq82-gjcm is a high-severity (CVSS 8.6) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.cli. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-8c3x-hq82-gjcm is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
XXE vulnerability in XSLT parsing in `org.hl7.fhir.publisher`
Blast Radius
org.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.cli☕org.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.coreReal-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
XSLT transforms performed by various components are vulnerable to XML external entity injections. A processed XML file with a malicious DTD tag ( ]> could produce XML containing data from the host system. This impacts use cases where org.hl7.fhir.publisher is being used to within a host where external clients can submit XML.
A previous release provided an incomplete solution revealed by new testing.
Patches
This issue has been patched as of version 1.7.4
Workarounds
None
References
Previous Advisory for Incomplete solution MITRE CWE OWASP XML External Entity Prevention Cheat Sheet
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.cli | all versions | 1.7.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.core | all versions | 1.7.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.cli. 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.hl7.fhir.publisher:org.hl7.fhir.publisher.cli to 1.7.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-8c3x-hq82-gjcm 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-8c3x-hq82-gjcm 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-8c3x-hq82-gjcm. 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-8c3x-hq82-gjcm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-8c3x-hq82-gjcm across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.