{"id":52824,"date":"2025-06-17T02:19:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T02:19:28","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-16T05:56:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T11:56:07","slug":"cve-2024-34711-improper-uri-validation-vulnerability-in-geoserver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-34711-improper-uri-validation-vulnerability-in-geoserver\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2024-34711: Improper URI Validation Vulnerability in GeoServer<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

GeoServer, a highly popular open-source server that facilitates the sharing and editing of geospatial data, has been identified as containing a significant vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2024-34711. This vulnerability has been found to allow unauthorized attackers to execute an XML External Entities (XEE) attack, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.
\nThe impact of this vulnerability is severe<\/a>, affecting a wide range of systems across different sectors due to the ubiquitous use of GeoServer in managing and manipulating geospatial data. It underscores the pressing need for robust security measures in managing and sharing geospatial data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2024-34711
\nSeverity: Critical (CVSS: 9.3)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: None
\nImpact: Potential system compromise<\/a> or data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

GeoServer | 2.25.0 and greater<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability lies in GeoServer\u2019s URI validation<\/a> process. GeoServer uses the PreventLocalEntityResolver class from GeoTools to filter out malicious URIs<\/a> in XML entities before resolving them. However, the regex used for this validation, (?i)(jar:file|http|vfs)[^?#;]*\\.xsd, is flawed, allowing attackers to send GET requests to any HTTP<\/a> server or limited file.
\nAn attacker can exploit this vulnerability to perform an XML External Entities<\/a> (XEE) attack. This could potentially allow<\/a> them to scan internal networks, gain information about them, and exploit any weaknesses they find.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited using an HTTP GET request<\/a>:<\/p>\n

GET http:\/\/internal.network\/vulnerable_endpoint HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/xml\n\n]>\n&xxe;<\/foo><\/code><\/pre>\n
In this example, the attacker is attempting to read a sensitive file from the server<\/a>. The payload is sent as an XML entity<\/a>, which if processed by an affected GeoServer instance, could lead to data leakage.<\/p>\n
Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n
While there is no immediate remedy for this vulnerability, GeoServer users are advised to apply any available vendor patches as soon as they are released. As a temporary mitigation measure, users can also employ Web<\/a> Application Firewalls (WAFs) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) to detect and prevent potential XEE attacks. Further, it is encouraged to review and strengthen network security policies<\/a> and practices regularly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview GeoServer, a highly popular open-source server that facilitates the sharing and editing of geospatial data, has been identified as containing a significant vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2024-34711. This vulnerability has been found to allow unauthorized attackers to execute an XML External Entities (XEE) attack, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. The impact of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-52824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t