CVE-2023-34411: Xml rs Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7gf7-jv65-wjmh
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-617 CWE-611
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-34411 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-617: Reachable Assertion) affecting Xml rs libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves xml-rs vulnerable to denial of service via invalid token in xml document. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.8.14.

CVE-2023-34411 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-34411
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7gf7-jv65-wjmh
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-617: Reachable Assertion
Affected Product Xml rs
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-34411

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Xml rs dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

xml-rs fixed: 0.8.14 
Upgrade xml-rs to 0.8.14
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for xml-rs

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-34411, inspect your project dependencies for Xml rs:

inspect dependencies for xml-rs

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Xml rs in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.8.14), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion, where the product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. In Xml rs, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The xml-rs crate >= 0.8.9 and < 0.8.14 for Rust and Crab allows a denial of service (panic) via an invalid <! token (such as <!DOCTYPEs/%<!A nesting) in an XML document.

CVE-2023-34411 Affected Xml rs Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.8.14
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
xml-rs
 crates.io
≥ 0.8.9
< 0.8.14
0.8.14

References

NVD — CVE-2023-34411 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34411
Xml rs Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/pull/226
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/00xc/xml-rs/commit/0f084d45aa53e4a27476961785f59f2bd7d59a9f
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/commit/014d808be900c85a0afc5ccdfe668be040d175aa
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/commit/c09549a187e62d39d40467f129e64abf32efc35c
Xml rs Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs
Xml rs Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/compare/0.8.13...0.8.14

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-34411?
CVE-2023-34411 is a security vulnerability in Xml rs involving xml-rs vulnerable to denial of service via invalid token in XML document under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion.
Which Xml rs versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.8.14 across affected packages: xml-rs.
What version fixes CVE-2023-34411?
Upgrading to 0.8.14 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is xml-rs affected?
Yes, xml-rs is affected in releases prior to 0.8.14. Upgrade your dependency to 0.8.14 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-34411?
CVE-2023-34411 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-34411?
CVE-2023-34411 is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion (The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2023-34411?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for xml-rs'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-7gf7-jv65-wjmh",
  "modified" : "2025-01-08T19:00:56Z",
  "published" : "2023-06-05T06:30:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-34411" ],
  "summary" : "xml-rs vulnerable to denial of service via invalid token in XML document",
  "details" : "The xml-rs crate >= 0.8.9 and < 0.8.14 for Rust and Crab allows a denial of service (panic) via an invalid <! token (such as <!DOCTYPEs/%<!A nesting) in an XML document.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "xml-rs"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.8.9"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.8.14"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34411"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/pull/226"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/00xc/xml-rs/commit/0f084d45aa53e4a27476961785f59f2bd7d59a9f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/commit/014d808be900c85a0afc5ccdfe668be040d175aa"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/commit/c09549a187e62d39d40467f129e64abf32efc35c"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netvl/xml-rs/compare/0.8.13...0.8.14"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-611", "CWE-617" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-06-06T02:06:58Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-06-05T04:15:11Z"
  }
}