CVE-2018-20433: C3p0 C3p0 Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q485-j897-qc27
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-611
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-20433 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) c3p0 vulnerability (CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference) affecting C3p0 libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves c3p0. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.9.5.3.

CVE-2018-20433 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-20433
GHSA Identifier GHSA-q485-j897-qc27
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Affected Product C3p0
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-2018-20433

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected C3p0 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

com.mchange:c3p0 fixed: 0.9.5.3 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.mchange</groupId>
    <artifactId>c3p0</artifactId>
    <version>0.9.5.3</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=com.mchange

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-20433, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.mchange

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of C3p0 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.9.5.3), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.mchange 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 C3p0, 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

c3p0 0.9.5.2 allows XXE in extractXmlConfigFromInputStream in com/mchange/v2/c3p0/cfg/C3P0ConfigXmlUtils.java during initialization.

CVE-2018-20433 Affected C3p0 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.9.5.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.mchange:c3p0
maven/com.mchange/c3p0
Maven
< 0.9.5.3
0.9.5.3

References

NVD — CVE-2018-20433 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20433
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/zhutougg/c3p0/commit/2eb0ea97f745740b18dd45e4a909112d4685f87b
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q485-j897-qc27
C3p0 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/zhutougg/c3p0
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/12/msg00021.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BFIVX6HOVNLAM7W3SUAMHYRNLCVQSAWR
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MQ47OFV57Y2DAHMGA5H3JOL4WHRWRFN4

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-20433?
CVE-2018-20433 is a security vulnerability in C3p0 involving c3p0 under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference.
Which C3p0 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.9.5.3 across affected packages: com.mchange:c3p0.
What version fixes CVE-2018-20433?
Upgrading to 0.9.5.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is c3p0 affected?
Yes, com.mchange:c3p0 is affected in releases prior to 0.9.5.3. Upgrade your dependency to 0.9.5.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-20433?
CVE-2018-20433 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-2018-20433?
CVE-2018-20433 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-2018-20433?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.mchange'. 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-q485-j897-qc27",
  "modified" : "2022-09-14T22:34:12Z",
  "published" : "2019-01-07T19:14:34Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-20433" ],
  "summary" : "XML External Entity Reference in mchange:c3p0",
  "details" : "c3p0 0.9.5.2 allows XXE in extractXmlConfigFromInputStream in com/mchange/v2/c3p0/cfg/C3P0ConfigXmlUtils.java during initialization.",
  "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" : "com.mchange:c3p0"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.9.5.3"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 0.9.5.2"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20433"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/zhutougg/c3p0/commit/2eb0ea97f745740b18dd45e4a909112d4685f87b"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q485-j897-qc27"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/zhutougg/c3p0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/12/msg00021.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BFIVX6HOVNLAM7W3SUAMHYRNLCVQSAWR"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MQ47OFV57Y2DAHMGA5H3JOL4WHRWRFN4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-611" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:50:54Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}