There is a XML external entity expansion (XXE) vulnerability in Apache Solr config files

Description

This vulnerability in Apache Solr 6.0.0 to 6.6.3, 7.0.0 to 7.3.0 relates to an XML external entity expansion (XXE) in Solr config files (solrconfig.xml, schema.xml, managed-schema). In addition, Xinclude functionality provided in these config files is also affected in a similar way. The vulnerability can be used as XXE using file/ftp/http protocols in order to read arbitrary local files from the Solr server or the internal network. Users are advised to upgrade to either Solr 6.6.4 or Solr 7.3.1 releases both of which address the vulnerability. Once upgrade is complete, no other steps are required. Those releases only allow external entities and Xincludes that refer to local files / zookeeper resources below the Solr instance directory (using Solr's ResourceLoader); usage of absolute URLs is denied. Keep in mind, that external entities and XInclude are explicitly supported to better structure config files in large installations. Before Solr 6 this was no problem, as config files were not accessible through the APIs.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2018-10-17 19:56:04 UTC
Updated
2024-03-04 22:58:15 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2020-06-16 21:54:20 UTC

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
1.71% 82.03%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.5 3.0
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-611 Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

Credits

  • MarkLee131 (analyst)

Affected packages (2)

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 >= 6.6.0, < 6.6.4 6.6.4
maven org.apache.solr:solr-core >= 7.0.0, < 7.3.1 7.3.1

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence