CVE-2023-51441 – This vulnerability in Apache Axis 1 allows auth... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-51441?

CVE-2023-51441 has a CVSS score of 7.2 (HIGH). This vulnerability in Apache Axis 1 allows authenticated users with admin service access to perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks due to improper input validation. Attackers could exploit this to make the server send requests to internal or external systems, potentially accessing sensitive data or services. Only Apache Axis 1.x installations with exposed admin services are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Apache Axis 1 allows authenticated users with admin service access to perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks due to improper input validation. Attackers could exploit this to make the server send requests to internal or external systems, potentially accessing sensitive data or services. Only Apache Axis 1.x installations with exposed admin services are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Apache Axis

Versions: All versions through 1.3

Operating Systems: All

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires admin service access; Axis 1.x is End-of-Life (EOL) and no longer supported by Apache.

📦 What is this software?

Axis by Apache

View all CVEs affecting Axis →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers could use SSRF to access internal systems, exfiltrate sensitive data, perform port scanning, or chain with other vulnerabilities to achieve remote code execution.

🟠

Likely Case

Authenticated attackers could probe internal networks, access metadata services, or interact with internal APIs that shouldn't be exposed externally.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper network segmentation and admin service restrictions, impact would be limited to the local application server environment.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires admin service credentials; SSRF techniques are well-documented and easy to weaponize.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: No official release; apply commit 685c309febc64aa393b2d64a05f90e7eb9f73e06

Vendor Advisory: https://lists.apache.org/thread/8nrm5thop8f82pglx4o0jg8wmvy6d9yd

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download patched source from GitHub commit 685c309febc64aa393b2d64a05f90e7eb9f73e06. 2. Build Axis 1.x from source. 3. Replace existing Axis JAR files. 4. Restart application server.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Admin Service

all

Remove or restrict access to Axis admin service endpoints

Configure web.xml to remove admin servlet mappings
Use firewall rules to block /axis/services/AdminService

Network Segmentation

all

Restrict outbound network access from Axis servers

Configure firewall to deny outbound HTTP/HTTPS from Axis server except to required endpoints

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Migrate to Apache Axis 2 or alternative SOAP engine immediately
Implement strict network egress filtering and WAF rules to detect SSRF patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if Axis 1.x JAR files are present (axis.jar) and version is 1.3 or earlier

Check Version:

java -cp axis.jar org.apache.axis.Version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify patched source commit 685c309febc64aa393b2d64a05f90e7eb9f73e06 is included in build

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual requests to AdminService endpoint
Outbound HTTP requests from server to unexpected internal/external IPs

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests from server to internal services (169.254.169.254, 10.x, 192.168.x)
Port scanning patterns from application server

SIEM Query:

source="axis.log" AND (uri="/axis/services/AdminService" OR message="AdminService")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-51441

CVSS v3 Score: 7.2 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-918

Published: January 6, 2024

Last Updated: June 18, 2025

🔗 References

https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/685c309febc64aa393b2d64a05f90e7eb9f73e06 Patch
https://lists.apache.org/thread/8nrm5thop8f82pglx4o0jg8wmvy6d9yd Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/685c309febc64aa393b2d64a05f90e7eb9f73e06 Patch
https://lists.apache.org/thread/8nrm5thop8f82pglx4o0jg8wmvy6d9yd Patch,Third Party Advisory

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