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CVE-2023-37895 — Remote code execution in...

CRITICAL

Remote code execution in Apache Jackrabbit

Published July 25, 2023Updated February 13, 2025Source: osv

Summary

Java object deserialization issue in Jackrabbit webapp/standalone on all platforms allows attacker to remotely execute code via RMIVersions up to (including) 2.20.10 (stable branch) and 2.21.17 (unstable branch) use the component "commons-beanutils", which contains a class that can be used for remote code execution over RMI. Users are advised to immediately update to versions 2.20.11 or 2.21.18. Note that earlier stable branches (1.0.x .. 2.18.x) have been EOLd already and do not receive updates anymore. In general, RMI support can expose vulnerabilities by the mere presence of an exploitable class on the classpath. Even if Jackrabbit itself does not contain any code known to be exploitable anymore, adding other components to your server can expose the same type of problem. We therefore recommend to disable RMI access altogether (see further below), and will discuss deprecating RMI support in future Jackrabbit releases. How to check whether RMI support is enabledRMI support can be over an RMI-specific TCP port, and over an HTTP binding. Both are by default enabled in Jackrabbit webapp/standalone. The native RMI protocol by default uses port 1099. To check whether it is enabled, tools like "netstat" can be used to check. RMI-over-HTTP in Jackrabbit by default uses the path "/rmi". So when running standalone on port 8080, check whether an HTTP GET request on localhost:8080/rmi returns 404 (not enabled) or 200 (enabled). Note that the HTTP path may be different when the webapp is deployed in a container as non-root context, in which case the prefix is under the user's control. Turning off RMIFind web.xml (either in JAR/WAR file or in unpacked web application folder), and remove the declaration and the mapping definition for the RemoteBindingServlet:         <servlet>             <servlet-name>RMI</servlet-name>             <servlet-class>org.apache.jackrabbit.servlet.remote.RemoteBindingServlet</servlet-class>         </servlet>         <servlet-mapping>             <servlet-name>RMI</servlet-name>             <url-pattern>/rmi</url-pattern>         </servlet-mapping> Find the bootstrap.properties file (in $REPOSITORY_HOME), and set         rmi.enabled=false     and also remove         rmi.host         rmi.port         rmi.url-pattern  If there is no file named bootstrap.properties in $REPOSITORY_HOME, it is located somewhere in the classpath. In this case, place a copy in $REPOSITORY_HOME and modify it as explained.  

Advisory Timeline

  • First published July 25, 2023 (1175 days ago).
  • Last revised February 13, 2025 — 569 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Maven
Update org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone to 2.20.11 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.20.11 for org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone -->
Maven
Update org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp to 2.20.11 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.20.11 for org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp -->
Maven
Update org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp to 2.21.18 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.21.18 for org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp -->
Maven
Update org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components to 2.21.18 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.21.18 for org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components -->
Maven
Update org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components to 2.20.11 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.20.11 for org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components -->
Maven
Update org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone to 2.21.18 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 2.21.18 for org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone -->

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (6)

Affects 1 ecosystem: maven (3).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone
maven
1.5.0, 1.5.2, 1.5.3, 1.5.4 (+6 more)2.20.11
org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp
maven
1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3 (+189 more)2.20.11
org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp
maven
2.21.0, 2.21.1, 2.21.10, 2.21.11 (+14 more)2.21.18
org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components
maven
2.21.0, 2.21.1, 2.21.10, 2.21.11 (+14 more)2.21.18
org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components
maven
2.19.2, 2.19.3, 2.19.4, 2.19.5 (+12 more)2.20.11
org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone
maven
All versions2.21.18

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-502
    Deserialization of Untrusted DataMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.8 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-37895?
Remote code execution in Apache Jackrabbit This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.8/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2023-37895?
CVE-2023-37895 affects org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone, org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-webapp and org.apache.jackrabbit:jackrabbit-standalone-components. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2023-37895 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.8

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-q8cm-3v62-jj79

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