CVE-2024-47880: Openrefine Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-79jv-5226-783f
CVSS 8.1
CWE-79 CWE-348
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-47880 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Openrefine libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves openrefine has a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability (xss) from post request in exportrowscommand. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.8.3.

CVE-2024-47880 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-47880
GHSA Identifier GHSA-79jv-5226-783f
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Openrefine
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

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:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2024-47880

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Openrefine 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.openrefine:openrefine fixed: 3.8.3
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.openrefine</groupId>
    <artifactId>openrefine</artifactId>
    <version>3.8.3</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=org.openrefine

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2024-47880, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.openrefine

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Openrefine in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.8.3), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.openrefine 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-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Openrefine, 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

### Summary The `export-rows` command can be used in such a way that it reflects part of the request verbatim, with a Content-Type header also taken from the request. An attacker could lead a user to a malicious page that submits a form POST that contains embedded JavaScript code. This code would then be included in the response, along with an attacker-controlled `Content-Type` header, and so potentially executed in the victim's browser as if it was part of OpenRefine. The attacker must know a valid project ID of a project that contains at least one row. ### Details The malicious form sets `contentType` to `text/html` (ExportRowsCommand.java line 101) and `preview` to `true` (line 107). This combination causes the browser to treat what OpenRefine thinks of as an export preview as a regular webpage. It would be safer if the `export-rows` command did not allow overriding the Content-Type header at all, instead relying on the exporter to provide the correct Content-Type. It could also require a CSRF token. As an additional measure, it could add a Content-Security-Policy header to the response disabling scripts and such entirely. At least the CSV exporter (`separator` and `lineSeparator` fields) and templating exporter (any field) are affected. It may also be possible to inject into the `dateSettings.custom` field or the SQL exporter default value field, if the project contains date or null cells. ### PoC An example form that demonstrates the issue is available on https://wandernauta.nl/os/. ### Impact Execution of arbitrary JavaScript in the user's browser. The attacker-provided code can do anything the user can do, including deleting projects, retrieving database passwords, or executing arbitrary Jython or Closure expressions, if those extensions are also present.

CVE-2024-47880 Affected Openrefine Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.8.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.openrefine:openrefine
Maven
< 3.8.3
3.8.3

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-47880?
CVE-2024-47880 is a security vulnerability in Openrefine involving OpenRefine has a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability (XSS) from POST request in ExportRowsCommand under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Openrefine versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.8.3 across affected packages: org.openrefine:openrefine.
What version fixes CVE-2024-47880?
Upgrading to 3.8.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openrefine affected?
Yes, org.openrefine:openrefine is affected in releases prior to 3.8.3. Upgrade your dependency to 3.8.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-47880?
CVE-2024-47880 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-47880?
CVE-2024-47880 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2024-47880?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.openrefine'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-79jv-5226-783f",
  "modified" : "2024-10-30T19:03:19Z",
  "published" : "2024-10-24T18:00:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-47880" ],
  "summary" : "OpenRefine has a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability (XSS) from POST request in ExportRowsCommand",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nThe `export-rows` command can be used in such a way that it reflects part of the request verbatim, with a Content-Type header also taken from the request.\n\nAn attacker could lead a user to a malicious page that submits a form POST that contains  embedded JavaScript code. This code would then be included in the response, along with an attacker-controlled `Content-Type` header, and so potentially executed in the victim's browser as if it was part of OpenRefine.\n\nThe attacker must know a valid project ID of a project that contains at least one row.\n\n### Details\n\nThe malicious form sets `contentType` to `text/html` (ExportRowsCommand.java line 101) and `preview` to `true` (line 107). This combination causes the browser to treat what OpenRefine thinks of as an export preview as a regular webpage.\n\nIt would be safer if the `export-rows` command did not allow overriding the Content-Type header at all, instead relying on the exporter to provide the correct Content-Type. It could also require a CSRF token. As an additional measure, it could add a Content-Security-Policy header to the response disabling scripts and such entirely.\n\nAt least the CSV exporter (`separator` and `lineSeparator` fields) and templating exporter (any field) are affected. It may also be possible to inject into the `dateSettings.custom` field or the SQL exporter default value field, if the project contains date or null cells.\n\n### PoC\n\nAn example form that demonstrates the issue is available on https://wandernauta.nl/os/.\n\n### Impact\n\nExecution of arbitrary JavaScript in the user's browser. The attacker-provided code can do anything the user can do, including deleting projects, retrieving database passwords, or executing arbitrary Jython or Closure expressions, if those extensions are also present.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.openrefine:openrefine"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.8.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/OpenRefine/OpenRefine/security/advisories/GHSA-79jv-5226-783f"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-47880"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/OpenRefine/OpenRefine/commit/8060477fa53842ebabf43b63e039745932fa629d"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/OpenRefine/OpenRefine"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-348", "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-10-24T18:00:06Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-10-24T21:15:12Z"
  }
}