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Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2021-3878
CVE-2021-3878:
Java vulnerability analysis and mitigation
Overview
Stanford CoreNLP versions <=4.3.0 were found to be vulnerable to an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability, identified as CVE-2021-3878. The vulnerability was discovered and reported on October 12, 2021 (CVE MITRE).
Technical details
The vulnerability exists in the XML processing components of Stanford CoreNLP, specifically in the DocumentBuilderFactory implementation. The issue was related to unsafe XML utilities usage in multiple files including DomReader.java and Ssurgeon.java (GitHub Commit).
Impact
An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability could potentially allow attackers to disclose internal files, perform server-side request forgery, or cause denial of service conditions when processing XML input (CVE MITRE).
Mitigation and workarounds
The vulnerability was addressed through a patch that replaced unsafe DocumentBuilderFactory instances with XMLUtils.safeDocumentBuilderFactory(). Users should upgrade to a version that includes this security fix (GitHub Commit).
Additional resources
Source: This report was generated using AI
Related Java vulnerabilities:
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