GHSA-w3pj-wh35-fq8w
CRITICALGeoTools Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in evaluating XPath expressions
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
org.geotools:gt-app-schema☕org.geotools:gt-complex☕org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core☕org.geotools:gt-app-schema☕org.geotools:gt-complex☕org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core☕org.geotools:gt-app-schema☕org.geotools:gt-complex+4 moreReal-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
Remote Code Execution (RCE) is possible if an application uses certain GeoTools functionality to evaluate XPath expressions supplied by user input.
Details
The following methods pass XPath expressions to the commons-jxpath library which can execute arbitrary code and would be a security issue if the XPath expressions are provided by user input.
org.geotools.appschema.util.XmlXpathUtilites.getXPathValues(NamespaceSupport, String, Document)org.geotools.appschema.util.XmlXpathUtilites.countXPathNodes(NamespaceSupport, String, Document)org.geotools.appschema.util.XmlXpathUtilites.getSingleXPathValue(NamespaceSupport, String, Document)org.geotools.data.complex.expression.FeaturePropertyAccessorFactory.FeaturePropertyAccessor.get(Object, String, Class<T>)org.geotools.data.complex.expression.FeaturePropertyAccessorFactory.FeaturePropertyAccessor.set(Object, String, Object, Class)org.geotools.data.complex.expression.MapPropertyAccessorFactory.new PropertyAccessor() {...}.get(Object, String, Class<T>)org.geotools.xsd.StreamingParser.StreamingParser(Configuration, InputStream, String)
PoC
The following inputs to StreamingParser will delay the response by five seconds:
new org.geotools.xsd.StreamingParser(
new org.geotools.filter.v1_0.OGCConfiguration(),
new java.io.ByteArrayInputStream("<Filter></Filter>".getBytes()),
"java.lang.Thread.sleep(5000)")
.parse();
Impact
This vulnerability can lead to executing arbitrary code.
Mitigation
GeoTools can operate with reduced functionality by removing the gt-complex jar from your application. As an example of the impact application schema datastore would not function without the ability to use XPath expressions to query complex content.
The SourceForge download page lists drop-in-replacement jars for GeoTools: 31.1, 30.3, 30.2, 29.2, 28.2, 27.5, 27.4, 26.7, 26.4, 25.2, 24.0. These jars are for download only and are not available from maven central, intended to quickly provide a fix to affected applications.
References
https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/security/advisories/GHSA-6jj6-gm7p-fcvv https://osgeo-org.atlassian.net/browse/GEOT-7587 https://github.com/geotools/geotools/pull/4797 https://github.com/Warxim/CVE-2022-41852?tab=readme-ov-file#workaround-for-cve-2022-41852
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-app-schema | ≥ 30.0&&< 30.4 | 30.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-complex | ≥ 30.0&&< 30.4 | 30.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core | ≥ 30.0&&< 30.4 | 30.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-app-schema | ≥ 31.0&&< 31.2 | 31.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-complex | ≥ 31.0&&< 31.2 | 31.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools.xsd:gt-xsd-core | ≥ 31.0&&< 31.2 | 31.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geotools:gt-app-schema. 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.geotools:gt-app-schema to 30.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-w3pj-wh35-fq8w 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-w3pj-wh35-fq8w 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-w3pj-wh35-fq8w. 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-w3pj-wh35-fq8w in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-w3pj-wh35-fq8w across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.