CVE-2015-8031 – CVE-2015-8031 is an XML External Entity (XXE) v... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2015-8031?

CVE-2015-8031 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). CVE-2015-8031 is an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in Hudson CI/CD server that allows attackers to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem, perform server-side request forgery (SSRF), or potentially execute remote code. This affects Hudson installations before version 3.3.2. Organizations using vulnerable Hudson versions for continuous integration are at risk.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2015-8031 is an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in Hudson CI/CD server that allows attackers to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem, perform server-side request forgery (SSRF), or potentially execute remote code. This affects Hudson installations before version 3.3.2. Organizations using vulnerable Hudson versions for continuous integration are at risk.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Hudson CI/CD Server

Versions: All versions before 3.3.2

Operating Systems: All operating systems running Java

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects all Hudson installations using default XML parsing configuration. Jenkins (Hudson fork) is not affected.

📦 What is this software?

Hudson by Eclipse

View all CVEs affecting Hudson →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise through remote code execution, data exfiltration of sensitive files (including credentials and configuration), and potential lateral movement within the network.

🟠

Likely Case

Arbitrary file read from the server filesystem, disclosure of sensitive configuration files, credentials, and source code repositories.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper network segmentation, file system permissions, and XML parser hardening.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

XXE vulnerabilities are well-understood with readily available exploit techniques. Attackers can craft malicious XML payloads to exploit this vulnerability.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 3.3.2

Vendor Advisory: https://wiki.eclipse.org/Hudson-ci/alerts/CVE-2015-8031

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download Hudson 3.3.2 or later from official sources. 2. Stop the Hudson service. 3. Backup configuration and data. 4. Replace the hudson-core JAR file with the patched version. 5. Restart the Hudson service. 6. Verify the version is 3.3.2 or higher.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable XXE in XML parser

all

Configure XML parser to disable external entity processing

Set XML parser properties: FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING=true, disallow-doctype-decl=true

Input validation and filtering

all

Implement XML input validation to reject malicious payloads

Implement XML schema validation or use whitelisting for allowed XML elements

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement network segmentation to isolate Hudson server from sensitive systems
Apply strict file system permissions to limit accessible files

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check the hudson-core JAR file version: java -jar hudson-core.jar --version or examine MANIFEST.MF

Check Version:

java -cp hudson-core.jar hudson.util.Version

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm version is 3.3.2 or higher and test with XXE payloads to ensure they are rejected

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

XML parsing errors with external entity references
Unexpected file access patterns in system logs
Large XML payloads in request logs

Network Indicators:

XML payloads containing SYSTEM or PUBLIC declarations
Requests to internal resources from Hudson server

SIEM Query:

source="hudson.log" AND ("DOCTYPE" OR "ENTITY" OR "SYSTEM")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2015-8031

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-611

Published: July 18, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-j3h2-8mf8-j5r2 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGJVNETHUDSONMAIN-31221 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://wiki.eclipse.org/Hudson-ci/alerts/CVE-2015-8031 Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-j3h2-8mf8-j5r2 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGJVNETHUDSONMAIN-31221 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://wiki.eclipse.org/Hudson-ci/alerts/CVE-2015-8031 Vendor Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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