CVE-2017-12620

Exp

When loading models or dictionaries that contain XML it is possible to perform an XXE attack, since Apache OpenNLP is a library, this only affects applications that load models or dictionaries from untrusted sources. The versions 1.5.0 to 1.5.3, 1.6.0, 1.7.0 to 1.7.2, 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 of Apache OpenNLP are affected.

Published: 2017-10-02 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-12620 is rated High Exploit Risk (86.2/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.02%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). EPSS rose +2.00% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2017-12620

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2017-12620

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 1.02% 3.02% +2.00%
2 2025-04-18 1.07% 1.02% -0.05%
3 2025-03-30 — 1.07% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-12620

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-12620

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2017-12620

GHSA-h22x-hm8g-rxpg · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Apache OpenNLP

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-12620

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache opennlp 1.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.5.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.5.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.5.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.6.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.7.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.7.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache opennlp 1.8.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:opennlp:1.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2017-12620

URL Tags
http://opennlp.apache.org/news/cve-2017-12620.html Exploit Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence