How severe is GHSA-99wh-973f-779p?

GHSA-99wh-973f-779p has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-99wh-973f-779p?

GHSA-99wh-973f-779p affects the following packages: com.hazelcast:hazelcast (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix GHSA-99wh-973f-779p?

Update com.hazelcast:hazelcast to 5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-99wh-973f-779p is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-99wh-973f-779p in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.hazelcast:hazelcast. 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.

How do I mitigate GHSA-99wh-973f-779p if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against GHSA-99wh-973f-779p?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-99wh-973f-779p is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is GHSA-99wh-973f-779p actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for GHSA-99wh-973f-779p, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-99wh-973f-779p?

GHSA-99wh-973f-779p has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.8%, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is GHSA-99wh-973f-779p?

GHSA-99wh-973f-779p is classified as XML External Entity (XXE) (CWE-611). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was GHSA-99wh-973f-779p published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-99wh-973f-779p was published on March 4, 2022 and was last updated on February 19, 2024. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕ Maven

GHSA-99wh-973f-779p

CRITICAL

XML External Entity Reference in Hazelcast

Also known asCVE-2022-0265

Published

Mar 4, 2022

Updated

Feb 19, 2024

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

3 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk85th percentile-5.51%

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.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

☕com.hazelcast:hazelcast

Real-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

The AbstractXmlConfigRootTagRecognizer() function makes use of SAXParser generated from a SAXParserFactory with no FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING set, allowing for XXE attacks.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`com.hazelcast:hazelcast`	≥ 5.1-beta1&&< 5.1	5.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in GitHub reposito…

huntr.devNVDMar 2022

Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in GitHub reposito…

github.comGithubApr 2022

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.hazelcast:hazelcast. 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 com.hazelcast:hazelcast to 5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-99wh-973f-779p 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-99wh-973f-779p 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-99wh-973f-779p. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

The AbstractXmlConfigRootTagRecognizer() function makes use of SAXParser generated from a SAXParserFactory with no FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING set, allowing for XXE attacks.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-99wh-973f-779p in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-99wh-973f-779p across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works