GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC

Workarounds

Remove the gn-wfsfeature-harvester and gn-camelPeriodicProducer jars, disabling the WFS Index functionality.

References

• GHSA-826p-4gcg-35vw
• https://github.com/geonetwork/core-geonetwork/pull/8757
• https://github.com/geonetwork/core-geonetwork/pull/8803
• https://github.com/geonetwork/core-geonetwork/pull/8812

GeoNetwork WFS Index functionality is affected by GeoTools XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability during schema validation.

This vulnerability is particularly severe as the REST API endpoint was not secured, potentially allowing unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive files

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.

GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC has a CVSS score of 8.2 (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 (4.4.8, 4.2.13); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

GeoNetwork 4.4.8 / 4.2.13.

1. What is GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC? GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC is a high-severity XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability in org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-web-app (maven), affecting versions >= 4.4.0, <= 4.4.7. It is fixed in 4.4.8, 4.2.13. An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs.
2. How severe is GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC? GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC has a CVSS score of 8.2 (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 packages are affected by GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC?
   • org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-web-app (maven) (versions >= 4.4.0, <= 4.4.7)
   • org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-wfsfeature-harvester (maven) (versions >= 4.4.0, <= 4.4.7)
4. Is there a fix for GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC? Yes. GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC is fixed in 4.4.8, 4.2.13. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC 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 GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC 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 GHSA-2P76-GC46-5FVC?
   • Upgrade org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-web-app to 4.4.8 or later
   • Upgrade org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-web-app to 4.2.13 or later
   • Upgrade org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-wfsfeature-harvester to 4.4.8 or later
   • Upgrade org.geonetwork-opensource:gn-wfsfeature-harvester to 4.2.13 or later