XML External Entity injection in GeoNode

1) XML External Entity injection

EUVDB-ID: #VU72678

Risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 5.9 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:P/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-26043

CWE-ID: CWE-611 - Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE')

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to gain access to sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input in the style upload functionality. A remote user can pass a specially crafted XML code to the affected application and view contents of arbitrary files on the system or initiate requests to external systems.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may allow an attacker to view contents of arbitrary file on the server or perform network scanning of internal and external infrastructure.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

GeoNode: 1.0 - 4.0.2

External links

http://github.com/GeoNode/geonode/commit/2fdfe919f299b21f1609bf898f9dcfde58770ac0
http://github.com/GeoNode/geonode/security/advisories/GHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated user via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.