CVE-2018-11788

Apache Karaf provides a features deployer, which allows users to "hot deploy" a features XML by dropping the file directly in the deploy folder. The features XML is parsed by XMLInputFactory class. Apache Karaf XMLInputFactory class doesn't contain any mitigation codes against XXE. This is a potential security risk as an user can inject external XML entities in Apache Karaf version prior to 4.1.7 or 4.2.2. It has been fixed in Apache Karaf 4.1.7 and 4.2.2 releases.

Published: 2019-01-07 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-11788 is rated High Risk (67/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 7.48%, 94th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-11788

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 24.75% 7.48% -17.27%
2 2025-03-30 54.25% 24.75% -29.50%
3 2025-03-29 — 54.25% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-11788

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-2018-11788

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2018-11788

GHSA-92wj-x78c-m4fx · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — XML External Entity Reference in Apache Karaf

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-11788

vendor priority summary link
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-11788

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-11788

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache karaf < 4.1.7 cpe:2.3:a:apache:karaf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache karaf >= 4.2.0, <= 4.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:karaf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache karaf 4.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:karaf:4.2.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache karaf 4.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:karaf:4.2.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-11788

cvelogic Threat Intelligence