CVE-2018-1309: Nifi standard processors Improper Restriction Of XML External Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-42wx-65g4-5cxv
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-611
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-1309 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) improper restriction of xml external vulnerability (CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference) affecting Nifi standard processors libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper restriction of xml external entity reference in apache nifi. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.6.0.

CVE-2018-1309 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-1309
GHSA Identifier GHSA-42wx-65g4-5cxv
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Affected Product Nifi standard processors
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-2018-1309

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nifi standard processors 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.nifi:nifi-standard-processors fixed: 1.6.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.nifi</groupId>
    <artifactId>nifi-standard-processors</artifactId>
    <version>1.6.0</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.nifi

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-1309, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nifi standard processors in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.6.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.nifi 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 Nifi standard processors, 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

Apache NiFi External XML Entity issue in SplitXML processor. Malicious XML content could cause information disclosure or remote code execution. The fix to disable external general entity parsing and disallow doctype declarations was applied on the Apache NiFi 1.6.0 release. Users running a prior 1.x release should upgrade to the appropriate release.

CVE-2018-1309 Affected Nifi standard processors Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.6.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.nifi:nifi-standard-processors
maven/org.apache.nifi/nifi-standard-processors
Maven
< 1.6.0
≥ 0.1.0
1.6.0

References

NVD — CVE-2018-1309 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1309
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/nifi/commit/28067a29fd13cdf8e21b440fc65c6dd67872522f
Nifi standard processors Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/nifi
issues.apache.org/jira/browse/nifi-48... WEB
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-4869
Nifi standard processors Security Information SECURITY
https://nifi.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2018-1309

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-1309?
CVE-2018-1309 is a security vulnerability in Nifi standard processors involving Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Apache NiFi under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference.
Which Nifi standard processors versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.6.0 across affected packages: org.apache.nifi:nifi-standard-processors.
What version fixes CVE-2018-1309?
Upgrading to 1.6.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nifi-standard-processors affected?
Yes, org.apache.nifi:nifi-standard-processors is affected in releases prior to 1.6.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.6.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-1309?
CVE-2018-1309 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-2018-1309?
CVE-2018-1309 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-2018-1309?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.nifi'. 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-42wx-65g4-5cxv",
  "modified" : "2023-09-12T19:08:14Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T03:16:17Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-1309" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Apache NiFi",
  "details" : "Apache NiFi External XML Entity issue in SplitXML processor. Malicious XML content could cause information disclosure or remote code execution. The fix to disable external general entity parsing and disallow doctype declarations was applied on the Apache NiFi 1.6.0 release. Users running a prior 1.x release should upgrade to the appropriate release.",
  "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.nifi:nifi-standard-processors"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.6.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.5.0"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1309"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/nifi/commit/28067a29fd13cdf8e21b440fc65c6dd67872522f"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/nifi"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-4869"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://nifi.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2018-1309"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-611" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-29T19:23:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-05-23T14:29:00Z"
  }
}