XXE vulnerability in XSLT parsing in `org.hl7.fhir.core`GHSA-gr3c-q7xf-47vh
HIGHFix: hapifhir/org.hl7.fhir.core#1717GHSA-gr3c-q7xf-47vh is a high-severity (CVSS 8.6) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3. A fix is available for ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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 GHSA-gr3c-q7xf-47vh.
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
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☕ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016mayReal-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
XSLT parsing performed by various components are vulnerable to XML external entity injections. A processed XML file with a malicious DTD tag ( <!DOCTYPE foo [<!ENTITY example SYSTEM "/etc/passwd"> ]> could produce XML containing data from the host system. This impacts use cases where org.hl7.fhir.core is being used to within a host where external clients can submit XML.
Details
This is related to https://github.com/hapifhir/org.hl7.fhir.core/security/advisories/GHSA-6cr6-ph3p-f5rf, in which its fix ( https://github.com/hapifhir/org.hl7.fhir.core/issues/1571, https://github.com/hapifhir/org.hl7.fhir.core/pull/1717) was incomplete.
References
https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/611.html https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/XML_External_Entity_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.html#jaxp-documentbuilderfactory-saxparserfactory-and-dom4j
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕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 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5 | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5:6.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities | all versions | 6.4.0ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities: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 |
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.dstu3, 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.dstu3 to 6.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-gr3c-q7xf-47vh 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.
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.
This vulnerability is of important severity rather than moderate due to its potential to expose sensitive host data and compromise system integrity. By exploiting the XXE vulnerability, an attacker can read arbitrary files (e.g., `/etc/passwd`), perform Denial of Service (DoS) through resource exhaustion, or even…
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-gr3c-q7xf-47vh (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.4.4 for Spring Boot | org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may | RHSA-2024:9806 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-gr3c-q7xf-47vh in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.