GHSA-ww97-9w65-2crx is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-74 vulnerability in org.apache.solr:solr-core. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-ww97-9w65-2crx is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Improper Input Validation in Apache Solr
Exploitation Status
Actively exploited in the wild
- Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for GHSA-ww97-9w65-2crx.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-ww97-9w65-2crx plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 0 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.solr:solr-core☕org.apache.solr:solr-core☕org.apache.solr:solr-core☕org.apache.solr:solr-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
Apache Solr 5.0.0 to Apache Solr 8.3.1 are vulnerable to a Remote Code Execution through the VelocityResponseWriter. A Velocity template can be provided through Velocity templates in a configset velocity/ directory or as a parameter. A user defined configset could contain renderable, potentially malicious, templates. Parameter provided templates are disabled by default, but can be enabled by setting params.resource.loader.enabled by defining a response writer with that setting set to true. Defining a response writer requires configuration API access. Solr 8.4 removed the params resource loader entirely, and only enables the configset-provided template rendering when the configset is trusted (has been uploaded by an authenticated user).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.solr:solr-core | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 8.4.0 | 8.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.solr:solr-core | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 8.4.0 | 8.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.solr:solr-core | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 8.4.0 | 8.4.0 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.solr:solr-core | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.4.0 | 8.4.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Apache Solr - Remote Code Execution via Velocity Template (Metasploit)
by Metasploit · Apr 16, 2020
Apache Solr 8.2.0 - Remote Code Execution
by @l3x_wong · Nov 1, 2019
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.solr:solr-core. 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.apache.solr:solr-core to 8.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-ww97-9w65-2crx 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-ww97-9w65-2crx 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-ww97-9w65-2crx. 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-ww97-9w65-2crx in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-ww97-9w65-2crx across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.