Vulnerabilities in pkg:maven/org.apache.struts/struts-tiles

PACKAGE

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qw4h-3xjj-84cc

Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-49735 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')) affecting Apache Tiles libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves unvalidated input may lead to path traversal and xxe. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:maven/org.apache.struts/struts-tiles

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:maven/org.apache.struts/struts-tiles. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID	CVE / NVD	Severity	Summary
GHSA-qw4h-3xjj-84cc	CVE-2023-49735	HIGH	Apache Tiles: Unvalidated input may lead to path traversal and XXE

CVE-2023-49735 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-49735

GHSA Identifier GHSA-qw4h-3xjj-84cc

Severity HIGH

CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5

CWE Classification CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

Affected Product Apache Tiles

Package Ecosystem Maven

Published Date 2023-12-01

Last Updated 2025-11-04

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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:N/A:N).

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 None (I:N)

Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2023-49735

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Apache Tiles 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.tiles:tiles-core fixed: Latest secure release

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.tiles</groupId>
    <artifactId>tiles-core</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>

org.apache.struts:struts-tiles fixed: Latest secure release

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.struts</groupId>
    <artifactId>struts-tiles</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>

struts:struts fixed: Latest secure release

<dependency>
    <groupId>struts</groupId>
    <artifactId>struts</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</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.tiles

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-49735, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tiles 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-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion'), where the product uses xml documents and allows their structure to be defined with a document type definition (dtd), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities. In Apache Tiles, 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

The value set as the DefaultLocaleResolver.LOCALE_KEY attribute on the session was not validated while resolving XML definition files, leading to possible path traversal and eventually SSRF/XXE when passing user-controlled data to this key. Passing user-controlled data to this key may be relatively common, as it was also used like that to set the language in the 'tiles-test' application shipped with Tiles. This issue affects Apache Tiles from version 2 onwards. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.

CVE-2023-49735 Affected Apache Tiles Versions

3 component(s)

Product / Package	Ecosystem	Affected Versions
org.apache.tiles:tiles-core maven/org.apache.tiles/tiles-core	Maven	≥ 2.0.0
org.apache.struts:struts-tiles maven/org.apache.struts/struts-tiles	Maven	≥ 1.3.0 ≤ 1.3.10
struts:struts maven/struts/struts	Maven	≥ 1.1 ≤ 1.2.9

References

NVD — CVE-2023-49735 NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49735

Apache Tiles Source Repository REPOSITORY

https://github.com/apache/tiles

lists.apache.org/thread/8ktm4vxr6vvc... WEB

https://lists.apache.org/thread/8ktm4vxr6vvc1qsxh6ft8jzmom1zl65p

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-49735?

CVE-2023-49735 is a security vulnerability in Apache Tiles involving Unvalidated input may lead to path traversal and XXE under CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion').

Which Apache Tiles versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: org.apache.tiles:tiles-core, org.apache.struts:struts-tiles, struts:struts.

What version fixes CVE-2023-49735?

Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Is tiles-core affected?

Yes, org.apache.tiles:tiles-core is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.

Is struts-tiles affected?

Yes, org.apache.struts:struts-tiles is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-49735?

CVE-2023-49735 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-49735?

CVE-2023-49735 is classified under CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') (The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.).

How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-49735?

Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tiles'. 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-qw4h-3xjj-84cc",
  "modified" : "2025-11-04T18:12:32Z",
  "published" : "2023-12-01T00:31:00Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-49735" ],
  "summary" : "Apache Tiles: Unvalidated input may lead to path traversal and XXE",
  "details" : "The value set as the DefaultLocaleResolver.LOCALE_KEY attribute on the session was not validated while resolving XML definition files, leading to possible path traversal and eventually SSRF/XXE when passing user-controlled data to this key. Passing user-controlled data to this key may be relatively common, as it was also used like that to set the language in the 'tiles-test' application shipped with Tiles.\n\nThis issue affects Apache Tiles from version 2 onwards.\n\nNOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.tiles:tiles-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.struts:struts-tiles"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.3.0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.3.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "struts:struts"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.1"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.2.9"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49735"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/tiles"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/8ktm4vxr6vvc1qsxh6ft8jzmom1zl65p"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-776" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-12-11T21:45:42Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-11-30T22:15:09Z"
  }
}

CVSS V3

7.5 HIGH