Vulnerabilities in pkg:maven/org.apache.velocity/velocity-engine-parent

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-59j4-wjwp-mw9m
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-13936 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) sandbox bypass vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Velocity engine parent libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves sandbox bypass in apache velocity engine. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.3.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:maven/org.apache.velocity/velocity-engine-parent

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

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

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-59j4-wjwp-mw9m CVE-2020-13936 HIGH Sandbox Bypass in Apache Velocity Engine

CVE-2020-13936 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-13936
GHSA Identifier GHSA-59j4-wjwp-mw9m
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Velocity engine parent
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
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-2020-13936

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Velocity engine parent 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.velocity:velocity-engine-parent fixed: 2.3 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.velocity</groupId>
    <artifactId>velocity-engine-parent</artifactId>
    <version>2.3</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.velocity:velocity fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.velocity</groupId>
    <artifactId>velocity</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.velocity

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-13936, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Velocity engine parent in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.3), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.velocity 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-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Velocity engine parent, 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

An attacker that is able to modify Velocity templates may execute arbitrary Java code or run arbitrary system commands with the same privileges as the account running the Servlet container. This applies to applications that allow untrusted users to upload/modify velocity templates running Apache Velocity Engine versions up to 2.2.

CVE-2020-13936 Affected Velocity engine parent Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent
maven/org.apache.velocity/velocity-engine-parent
Maven
< 2.3
2.3
org.apache.velocity:velocity
maven/org.apache.velocity/velocity
Maven
≤ 1.7

References

NVD — CVE-2020-13936 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13936
Velocity engine parent Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
Velocity engine parent Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
Velocity engine parent Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202107-52
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/03/msg00019.html
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf7d369... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf7d369de88dc88a1347006a3323b3746d849234db40a8edfd5ebc436@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/reab597... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/reab5978b54a9f4c078402161e30a89c42807b198814acadbe6c862c7@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/re8e748... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/re8e7482fe54d289fc0229e61cc64947b63b12c3c312e9f25bf6f3b8c@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/re64119... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/re641197d204765130618086238c73dd2ce5a3f94b33785b587d72726@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd7e865... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd7e865c87f9043c21d9c1fd9d4df866061d9a08cfc322771160d8058@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd2a89e... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd2a89e17e8a9b451ce655f1a34117752ea1d18a22ce580d8baa824fd@%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbee727... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbee7270556f4172322936b5ecc9fabf0c09f00d4fa56c9de1963c340@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb042f3... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb042f3b0090e419cc9f5a3d32cf0baff283ccd6fcb1caea61915d6b6@%3Ccommits.velocity.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9dc250... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9dc2505651788ac668299774d9e7af4dc616be2f56fdc684d1170882@%3Cusers.activemq.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r7f209b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r7f209b837217d2a0fe5977fb692e7f15d37fa5de8214bcdc4c21d9a7@%3Ccommits.turbine.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r52a512... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r52a5129df402352adc34d052bab9234c8ef63596306506a89fdc7328@%3Cusers.activemq.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4cd594... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4cd59453b65d4ac290fcb3b71fdf32b4f1f8989025e89558deb5a245@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3ea4c4... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3ea4c4c908505b20a4c268330dfe7188b90c84dcf777728d02068ae6@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r39de20... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r39de20c7e9c808b1f96790875d33e58c9c0aabb44fd9227e7b3dc5da@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r293284... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r293284c6806c73f51098001ea86a14271c39f72cd76af9e946d9d9ad@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r17cb93... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r17cb932fab14801b14e5b97a7f05192f4f366ef260c10d4a8dba8ac9@%3Cdev.ws.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0bc98e... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0bc98e9cd080b4a13b905c571b9bed87e1a0878d44dbf21487c6cca4@%3Cdev.santuario.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r01043f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r01043f584cbd47959fabe18fff64de940f81a65024bb8dddbda31d9a@%3Cuser.velocity.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r01043f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r01043f584cbd47959fabe18fff64de940f81a65024bb8dddbda31d9a%40%3Cuser.velocity.apache.org%3E
Velocity engine parent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/velocity-engine
Velocity engine parent Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/03/10/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-13936?
CVE-2020-13936 is a security vulnerability in Velocity engine parent involving Sandbox Bypass in Apache Velocity Engine under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Velocity engine parent versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.3 across affected packages: org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent, org.apache.velocity:velocity.
What version fixes CVE-2020-13936?
Upgrading to 2.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is velocity-engine-parent affected?
Yes, org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent is affected in releases prior to 2.3. Upgrade your dependency to 2.3 or later.
Is velocity affected?
Yes, org.apache.velocity:velocity 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-2020-13936?
CVE-2020-13936 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-13936?
CVE-2020-13936 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-13936?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.velocity'. 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-59j4-wjwp-mw9m",
  "modified" : "2022-04-01T20:22:44Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-06T20:32:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-13936" ],
  "summary" : "Sandbox Bypass in Apache Velocity Engine",
  "details" : "An attacker that is able to modify Velocity templates may execute arbitrary Java code or run arbitrary system commands with the same privileges as the account running the Servlet container. This applies to applications that allow untrusted users to upload/modify velocity templates running Apache Velocity Engine versions up to 2.2.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
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}