CVE-2019-3773
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in Spring Web Services. It allows attackers to read arbitrary files, perform server-side request forgery, or cause denial of service by sending malicious XML payloads. Systems using vulnerable versions of Spring Web Services that process XML from untrusted sources are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Spring Web Services
📦 What is this software?
Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure by Oracle
View all CVEs affecting Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure →
Spring Web Services by Pivotal Software
Spring Web Services by Pivotal Software
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise including arbitrary file read, SSRF attacks, and potential remote code execution depending on server configuration.
Likely Case
Sensitive file disclosure (configuration files, credentials), internal network scanning via SSRF, and denial of service.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and XML parser hardening, potentially reduced to denial of service only.
🎯 Exploit Status
XXE vulnerabilities are well-understood with many public exploits available. Exploitation requires sending XML payloads to vulnerable endpoints.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Spring Web Services 2.4.4, 3.0.5
Vendor Advisory: https://pivotal.io/security/cve-2019-3773
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Spring Web Services to version 2.4.4 or 3.0.5 or later. 2. Update dependencies in your project configuration (Maven pom.xml or Gradle build.gradle). 3. Rebuild and redeploy your application. 4. Restart application servers.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable XXE in XML parsers
allConfigure XML parsers to disable external entity processing
Set XML parser properties: FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING = true, DISALLOW_DOCTYPE_DECL = true, EXTERNAL_GENERAL_ENTITIES = false, EXTERNAL_PARAMETER_ENTITIES = false, LOAD_EXTERNAL_DTD = false
Input validation and filtering
allValidate and sanitize XML input before processing
Implement XML schema validation, filter DOCTYPE declarations, and validate against known good patterns
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level controls to restrict XML input to trusted sources only
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with XXE protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Spring Web Services version in your application dependencies. If using Maven: mvn dependency:tree | grep spring-ws. If using Gradle: gradle dependencies | grep spring-ws.Check Version:
mvn dependency:tree | grep -i "spring-ws\|spring-ws-core" or check pom.xml/gradle.build for version numbersVerify Fix Applied:
Verify updated version appears in dependencies and test with XXE payloads to confirm they are rejected.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- XML parsing errors containing DOCTYPE or ENTITY declarations
- Unusual file access patterns from web service processes
- Outbound HTTP requests from server to internal systems
Network Indicators:
- XML payloads containing DOCTYPE declarations or external entity references
- Unusual XML content length or structure
SIEM Query:
web_service_logs WHERE (message CONTAINS "DOCTYPE" OR message CONTAINS "ENTITY") AND (status_code = 200 OR status_code = 400)🔗 References
- https://pivotal.io/security/cve-2019-3773
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231227-0011/
- https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html
- https://pivotal.io/security/cve-2019-3773
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231227-0011/
- https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html
