CVE-2023-40743 – This vulnerability in Apache Axis 1.x allows at... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-40743?

CVE-2023-40743 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability in Apache Axis 1.x allows attackers to pass untrusted input to ServiceFactory.getService, which can trigger dangerous lookup mechanisms like LDAP. This exposes applications to denial of service, server-side request forgery, and potentially remote code execution. Anyone using Apache Axis 1.x with untrusted input passed to ServiceFactory.getService is affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Apache Axis 1.x allows attackers to pass untrusted input to ServiceFactory.getService, which can trigger dangerous lookup mechanisms like LDAP. This exposes applications to denial of service, server-side request forgery, and potentially remote code execution. Anyone using Apache Axis 1.x with untrusted input passed to ServiceFactory.getService is affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Apache Axis 1.x

Versions: All versions of Apache Axis 1.x

Operating Systems: All operating systems running Java applications

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only vulnerable when untrusted input is passed to ServiceFactory.getService API

📦 What is this software?

Axis by Apache

View all CVEs affecting Axis →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise

🟠

Likely Case

Server-side request forgery and denial of service attacks

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if untrusted input is properly sanitized or not passed to the vulnerable API

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Internet-facing applications accepting user input are directly exposed

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal applications could still be exploited by authenticated users or through other attack vectors

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires passing untrusted input to the vulnerable API method

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: No official release - apply commit 7e66753427466590d6def0125e448d2791723210

Vendor Advisory: https://lists.apache.org/thread/gs0qgk2mgss7zfhzdd6ftfjvm4kp7v82

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download the patch from the GitHub commit. 2. Apply the patch to your Axis 1.x source code. 3. Rebuild and redeploy your application. 4. Restart the application server.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Input validation and sanitization

all

Review and modify code to ensure no untrusted or unsanitized input is passed to ServiceFactory.getService

Migrate to Axis 2

all

Replace Apache Axis 1.x with Apache Axis 2/Java or another SOAP engine

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict input validation to prevent untrusted data from reaching ServiceFactory.getService
Deploy network segmentation and web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious requests

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Review application code for calls to ServiceFactory.getService with user-controlled input

Check Version:

Check your application's dependencies for Apache Axis 1.x inclusion

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify the patch is applied by checking for the commit changes in your codebase

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual LDAP lookup attempts
Unexpected service factory invocations with user input
Error logs related to ServiceFactory

Network Indicators:

Unexpected outbound LDAP connections from the application server
SSRF attempts to internal services

SIEM Query:

source="application.logs" AND ("ServiceFactory.getService" OR "LDAP lookup") AND user_input=*

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-40743

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-20

Published: September 5, 2023

Last Updated: February 13, 2025

🔗 References

https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/7e66753427466590d6def0125e448d2791723210 Patch
https://lists.apache.org/thread/gs0qgk2mgss7zfhzdd6ftfjvm4kp7v82 Issue Tracking,Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00025.html
https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/7e66753427466590d6def0125e448d2791723210 Patch
https://lists.apache.org/thread/gs0qgk2mgss7zfhzdd6ftfjvm4kp7v82 Issue Tracking,Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00025.html

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