GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW

GeoTools Schema class use of Eclipse XSD library to represent schema data structure is vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) exploit.

Resolution

GeoTools API change allows EntityResolver to be supplied to the following methods:

Schemas.parse( location, locators, resolvers, uriHandlers, entityResolver);
Schemas.findSchemas(Configuration configuration, EntityResolver entityResolver);

With this API change the gt-wfs-ng WFS DataStore ENTITY_RESOLVER parameter is now used.

Reference

• GHSA-jj54-8f66-c5pc: Describes the impact of the gt-xsd-core vulnerability on the GeoServer WFS protocol, resulting in both Service Side Request Forgery (SSRF) and Out-of-Band (OOB) data exfiltration of local files.

• GHSA-2p76-gc46-5fvc: Describes the impact of the gt-wfs-ng and gt-xsd-core vulnerability on the GeoNetwork WFS Index functionality.

This impacts whoever exposes XML processing with gt-xsd-core involved in parsing, when the documents carry a reference to an external XML schema. The gt-xsd-core Schemas class is not using the EntityResolver provided by the ParserHandler (if any was configured).

This also impacts users of gt-wfs-ng DataStore where the ENTITY_RESOLVER connection parameter was not being used as intended.

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-826P-4GCG-35VW has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Critical). 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 (33.1, 32.3, 31.7, 28.6.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW? GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW is a critical-severity XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability in org.geotools:gt-xsd-core (maven), affecting versions = 33.0. It is fixed in 33.1, 32.3, 31.7, 28.6.1. An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs.
2. How severe is GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW? GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Critical). 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-826P-4GCG-35VW?
   • org.geotools:gt-xsd-core (maven) (versions = 33.0)
   • org.geotools:gt-wfs-ng (maven) (versions >= 33.0, < 33.1)
4. Is there a fix for GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW? Yes. GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW is fixed in 33.1, 32.3, 31.7, 28.6.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-826P-4GCG-35VW 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-826P-4GCG-35VW 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-826P-4GCG-35VW?
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-xsd-core to 33.1 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-xsd-core to 32.3 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-xsd-core to 31.7 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-wfs-ng to 33.1 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-wfs-ng to 32.3 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-wfs-ng to 31.7 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-xsd-core to 28.6.1 or later
   • Upgrade org.geotools:gt-wfs-ng to 28.6.1 or later