CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-23901 — An XML external entity (XXE) injection vulnerability was discovered in the Nutch DmozParser and is known to affect Nutch versions < 1.18

Critical CVSS 9.1

An XML external entity (XXE) injection vulnerability was discovered in the Nutch DmozParser and is known to affect Nutch versions < 1.18. XML external entity injection (also known as XXE) is a web security vulnerability that allows an attacker to interfere with an application's processing of XML data. It often allows an attacker to view files on the application server filesystem, and to interact with any back-end or external systems that the application itself can access. This issue is fixed in Apache Nutch 1.18.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.1 (3.1)
Published
2021-01-25
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-611

Affected products

  • apache / nutch
  • netapp / snap_creator_framework

Matched remediation archetype

XML external entity and unsafe XML processing

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Inventory XML parsers used by APIs, file imports, office or image formats, identity protocols, feeds, and background jobs.
  • Determine whether document type declarations, external entities, XInclude, schemas, or network resolvers are enabled.
  • Map parser filesystem and network access and the sensitivity of documents it processes.

Remediate safely

  • Configure each parser to reject document type declarations and disable external entity, XInclude, and network resolution features.
  • Prefer a data format or hardened parser that does not support external resolution, and apply input size and depth limits.
  • Update affected XML libraries and centralize secure parser construction so callers cannot silently override it.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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