XML External Entity (XXE) Injection in Apache Solr

Description

In Apache Solr, the DataImportHandler, an optional but popular module to pull in data from databases and other sources, has a feature in which the whole DIH configuration can come from a request's "dataConfig" parameter. The debug mode of the DIH admin screen uses this to allow convenient debugging / development of a DIH config. Since a DIH config can contain scripts, this parameter is a security risk. Starting with version 8.2.0 of Solr, use of this parameter requires setting the Java System property "enable.dih.dataConfigParam" to true.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2019-08-01 19:17:35 UTC
Updated
2025-10-22 17:44:26 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2019-08-01 19:07:49 UTC
NVD published
2019-08-01

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
93.44% 99.82%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.2 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E: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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
Exploit maturity (E:H)
Exploits are easy to find or already weaponized—assume people are using them.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
maven org.apache.solr:solr-core < 8.2.0 8.2.0

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence