GHSA-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) Code Injection vulnerability in org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api. A fix is available for org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenMRS has Stored Velocity SSTI to RCE via ConceptReferenceRange
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q.
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-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api☕org.openmrs.api:openmrs-apiReal-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
Impact
The ConceptReferenceRangeUtility.evaluateCriteria() method in OpenMRS Core
evaluates database-stored criteria strings as Apache Velocity templates without any sandbox configuration. The VelocityEngine is initialized with only logging properties and noSecureUberspector, leaving the default UberspectImpl in place, which allows
unrestricted Java reflection through template expressions.
A user with the Manage Concepts privilege can store a malicious Velocity template
expression in a concept's reference range criteria field. This payload is then executed
automatically whenever a user or API call validates an observation against the affected
concept. The Velocity context exposes $patient (the Person / Patient object), $obs (the Obs object), and $fn (the ConceptReferenceRangeUtility instance with access to the full OpenMRS service layer).
Persistent Remote Code Execution: The payload persists in the concept_reference_range database table (VARCHAR 65535). A single compromised concept for a common clinical measurement executes the payload on every subsequent observation validation across all users, API clients, and integrations in the facility.
Privilege Escalation: The Manage Concepts privilege is a content-management function, defined as "Able to add/edit/delete concept entries", not an administrative privilege. Multiple non-admin staff per facility typically hold this privilege. The attacker escalates from concept dictionary management to arbitrary code execution as the Tomcat application server process.
PHI Exfiltration: The Velocity context objects directly expose patient data without requiring OS-level RCE.
Patches
This is fixed in 2.8.6 and 2.7.9 as well as future versions.
Workarounds
Ensure the Manage Concepts privilege is restricted to only authorized users and carefully audit any ConceptReferenceRanges in the database.
Resources
https://github.com/openmrs/openmrs-core/commit/8d1c193 https://www.machinespirits.com/advisory/1e8430/
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.9 | 2.7.9org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api:2.7.9 |
| ☕Maven | org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.6 | 2.8.6org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api:2.8.6 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.openmrs.api:openmrs-api to 2.7.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q. 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-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-xj4f-8jjg-vx4q across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.