CVE-2015-3208: Withdrawn Advisory Improper Restriction Of XML External Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x6rc-54xp-ccxx
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-611
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-3208 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) improper restriction of xml external vulnerability (CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference) affecting Withdrawn Advisory libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper restriction of xml external entity reference in apache activemq. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.23.1.

CVE-2015-3208 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-3208
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x6rc-54xp-ccxx
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Affected Product Withdrawn Advisory
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2015-3208

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Withdrawn Advisory dependencies to a patched release.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

org.apache.activemq:activemq-client fixed: 2.23.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.activemq</groupId>
    <artifactId>activemq-client</artifactId>
    <version>2.23.1</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.activemq

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2015-3208, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.activemq

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Withdrawn Advisory in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.23.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.activemq command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference, where the product processes an xml document that can contain xml entities with uris that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output. In Withdrawn Advisory, 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

## Withdrawn Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because further investgation revealed that this is not a security issue. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ## Original Description XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability in the XPath selector component in Artemis ActiveMQ before commit 48d9951d879e0c8cbb59d4b64ab59d53ef88310d allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via unknown vectors.

CVE-2015-3208 Affected Withdrawn Advisory Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.23.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.activemq:activemq-client
maven/org.apache.activemq/activemq-client
Maven
< 2.23.1
2.23.1

References

NVD — CVE-2015-3208 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3208
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/activemq-artemis/commit/48d9951d879e0c8cbb59d4b64ab59d53ef88310d
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2018:29... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:2927
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1225252
Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/07/24/2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-3208?
CVE-2015-3208 is a security vulnerability in Withdrawn Advisory involving Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Apache ActiveMQ under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference.
Which Withdrawn Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.23.1 across affected packages: org.apache.activemq:activemq-client.
What version fixes CVE-2015-3208?
Upgrading to 2.23.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is activemq-client affected?
Yes, org.apache.activemq:activemq-client is affected in releases prior to 2.23.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2.23.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-3208?
CVE-2015-3208 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-3208?
CVE-2015-3208 is classified under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2015-3208?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.activemq'. 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-x6rc-54xp-ccxx",
  "modified" : "2025-07-18T17:25:20Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T02:21:03Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2025-07-18T17:25:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-3208" ],
  "summary" : "Withdrawn Advisory: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Apache ActiveMQ",
  "details" : "## Withdrawn Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because further investgation revealed that this is not a security issue. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Description\nXML external entity (XXE) vulnerability in the XPath selector component in Artemis ActiveMQ before commit 48d9951d879e0c8cbb59d4b64ab59d53ef88310d allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via unknown vectors.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.activemq:activemq-client"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.23.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.23.0"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3208"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/activemq-artemis/commit/48d9951d879e0c8cbb59d4b64ab59d53ef88310d"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:2927"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1225252"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/07/24/2"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-611" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-06T20:17:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-07-25T18:29:00Z"
  }
}