CVE-2024-46984

Gematik Referenzvalidator has an XXE vulnerability that can lead to a Server Side Request Forgery attack

Workarounds

A pre-processing or manual analysis of input XML resources on existence of DTD definitions or external entities can mitigate the problem.

References

• OWASP Top 10 XXE
• Server Side Request Forgery
• OWASP XML External Entity Prevention Cheat Sheet

The profile location routine in the referencevalidator commons package is vulnerable to XML External Entities attack due to insecure defaults of the used Woodstox WstxInputFactory. A malicious XML resource can lead to network requests issued by referencevalidator and thus to a Server Side Request Forgery attack.

The vulnerability impacts applications which use referencevalidator to process XML resources from untrusted sources.

An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs. Typical impact: local file disclosure, server-side request forgery, or denial of service.

CVE-2024-46984 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.5.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

The problem has been patched with the 2.5.1 version of the referencevalidator. Users are strongly recommended to update to this version or a more recent one.

1. What is CVE-2024-46984? CVE-2024-46984 is a high-severity XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability in de.gematik.refv.commons:commons (maven), affecting versions < 2.5.1. It is fixed in 2.5.1. An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-46984? CVE-2024-46984 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of de.gematik.refv.commons:commons are affected by CVE-2024-46984? de.gematik.refv.commons:commons (maven) versions < 2.5.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-46984? Yes. CVE-2024-46984 is fixed in 2.5.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-46984 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-46984 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-46984 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2024-46984? Upgrade de.gematik.refv.commons:commons to 2.5.1 or later.