changedetection.io project has an XXE vulnerabilityGHSA-v7cp-2cx9-x793
HIGHGHSA-v7cp-2cx9-x793 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in changedetection-io. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-v7cp-2cx9-x793.
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
changedetection-ioReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
changedetection.io_XXE_01 Vulnerability Report: We discovered a XXE vulnerability in the changedetection.io project
While analyzing the code logic, it was determined that an area may lead to unintended behavior under specific conditions. With the project's security in mind, see the analysis results to discern whether this may indicate a potential security risk.
Overview
- SOURCE_VERSION:
0.54.9 (9f3a9fdc18bba404244801e5df8109e213ce9ff4) - Vulnerability type:
XXE - Finding title:
XML XPath helpers parse untrusted XML with entity resolution left to lxml defaults - Affected location:
changedetectionio/html_tools.py:287
Root Cause
xpath_filter() switches to XML mode for XML/RSS content and creates etree.XMLParser(strip_cdata=False) without explicitly disabling external entity resolution, external DTD loading, or network-backed entity lookup. The helper then parses untrusted XML bytes directly with etree.fromstring(...).
Source-to-Sink Chain
- Untrusted XML/RSS response content is fetched from monitored URLs.
- Stream detection marks the content as XML/RSS and the include-filter path invokes
xpath_filter(..., is_xml=True). xpath_filter()builds the default XML parser and callsetree.fromstring(...)atchangedetectionio/html_tools.py:287.- External entity declarations in attacker XML can be expanded by parser-default behavior in affected runtime combinations.
Exploitation Preconditions
- Attacker controls the watched XML/RSS response body.
- The watch uses an XPath include filter that triggers XML helper parsing.
- Runtime parser behavior allows external entity expansion (for example, vulnerable dependency/default combinations).
- The process can read the referenced local resource.
Risk
The XML helper path can turn watch processing into a local file disclosure primitive when entity expansion is enabled by parser defaults.
Impact
Sensitive local files can be exposed into extracted watch output, diff history, and downstream notification channels.
Remediation
- Harden XML parser construction with
resolve_entities=False,load_dtd=False, andno_network=True. - Reject
DOCTYPE/entity declarations for untrusted XML if DTD features are unnecessary. - Add regression tests that assert external entities are never expanded in XPath XML helper flows.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | changedetection-io | all versions | No fix |
Affected Products
changedetectionwebtechnologiesDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for changedetection-io, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of changedetection-io for GHSA-v7cp-2cx9-x793. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-v7cp-2cx9-x793 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.