Remote code execution in HtmlUnit

1) Code Injection

EUVDB-ID: #VU77779

Risk: High

CVSSv3.1: 8.5 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-26119

CWE-ID: CWE-94 - Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation when parsing XSTL code. A remote attacker can trick the victim to open a specially crafted web page and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

HtmlUnit: 2.0 - 2.70.0

External links

http://siebene.github.io/2022/12/30/HtmlUnit-RCE/
http://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-NETSOURCEFORGEHTMLUNIT-3252500
http://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit/commit/641325bbc84702dc9800ec7037aec061ce21956b

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to trick the victim to visit a specially crafted website.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.