CVE-2023-39020: Stanford parser Code Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-353m-jh2m-72v4
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-39020 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) code injection vulnerability (CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')) affecting Stanford parser libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves code injection in stanford-parser. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.5.5.

CVE-2023-39020 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-39020
GHSA Identifier GHSA-353m-jh2m-72v4
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Affected Product Stanford parser
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:3.1/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-2023-39020

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

edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-parser fixed: 4.5.5 
<dependency>
    <groupId>edu.stanford.nlp</groupId>
    <artifactId>stanford-parser</artifactId>
    <version>4.5.5</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=edu.stanford.nlp

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-39020, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=edu.stanford.nlp

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Stanford parser in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.5.5), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=edu.stanford.nlp 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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. In Stanford parser, 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

stanford-parser v3.9.2 and below was discovered to contain a code injection vulnerability in the component edu.stanford.nlp.io.getBZip2PipedInputStream. This vulnerability is exploited via passing an unchecked argument.

CVE-2023-39020 Affected Stanford parser Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.5.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-parser
maven/edu.stanford.nlp/stanford-parser
Maven
< 4.5.5
4.5.5

References

NVD — CVE-2023-39020 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39020
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP/commit/897231bed0efb24574c80c875c0b5f2225c145bc
Stanford parser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/LetianYuan/My-CVE-Public-References/tree/main/edu_stanford_nlp_stanford-parser
Stanford parser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-39020?
CVE-2023-39020 is a security vulnerability in Stanford parser involving Code injection in stanford-parser under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection').
Which Stanford parser versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.5.5 across affected packages: edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-parser.
What version fixes CVE-2023-39020?
Upgrading to 4.5.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is stanford-parser affected?
Yes, edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-parser is affected in releases prior to 4.5.5. Upgrade your dependency to 4.5.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-39020?
CVE-2023-39020 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-39020?
CVE-2023-39020 is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-39020?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=edu.stanford.nlp'. 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-353m-jh2m-72v4",
  "modified" : "2024-09-05T16:59:18Z",
  "published" : "2023-07-28T15:30:23Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-39020" ],
  "summary" : "Code injection in stanford-parser",
  "details" : "stanford-parser v3.9.2 and below was discovered to contain a code injection vulnerability in the component edu.stanford.nlp.io.getBZip2PipedInputStream. This vulnerability is exploited via passing an unchecked argument.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-parser"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.5.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39020"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP/commit/897231bed0efb24574c80c875c0b5f2225c145bc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/LetianYuan/My-CVE-Public-References/tree/main/edu_stanford_nlp_stanford-parser"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-07-28T20:50:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-07-28T15:15:13Z"
  }
}