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ActivemqApplication · Apache

CVE-2014-3600

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-10-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability in Apache ActiveMQ 5.x before 5.10.1 allows remote consumers to have unspecified impact via vectors involving an XPath based selector when dequeuing XML messages.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Apache ActiveMQ 5.x before 5.10.1 contains an XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability in the XPath-based message selector used when dequeuing XML messages. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious XML messages to read arbitrary files on the server, perform SSRF attacks, or cause denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade to Apache ActiveMQ 5.10.1 or later. As a temporary workaround, disable external entity processing in the XML parser configuration or validate/sanitize XML messages before processing.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
ActivemqApplication
Affected:= 5.0.0= 5.1.0= 5.2.0= 5.3.0= 5.3.1= 5.3.2= 5.4.0= 5.4.1= 5.4.2= 5.4.3= 5.5.0= 5.5.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Apache ActiveMQ is installed
    Look for ActiveMQ installation directories (such as /opt/activemq, /usr/local/activemq, or check for activemq process running via 'ps aux | grep activemq'). Check for activemq-all.jar or activemq.jar in the system.
    Affected if ActiveMQ is not present on the system.
  2. Determine the installed ActiveMQ version
    Check the version file in the ActiveMQ home directory (such as VERSION or release notes). Alternatively, inspect the manifest within the activemq-all.jar file for the version attribute.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions: 5.0.0, 5.1.0, 5.2.0, 5.3.0, 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.4.0, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.5.0, or 5.5.1, or any version before 5.10.1.
  3. Check if XPath-based message selectors are used for XML messages
    Review ActiveMQ configuration files (activemq.xml) and application code that interacts with the message queue. Look for MessageSelector usage with XPath expressions applied to XML content.
    Affected if XPath-based selectors are used to filter or dequeue XML messages from queues or topics.
  4. Inspect the XML parser configuration for external entity processing
    Check the activemq.xml broker configuration or any custom XML parser bean definitions. Look for XMLInputFactory, DocumentBuilder, or SAXParser configurations that may have feature settings for external entities.
    Affected if External entity processing is enabled (feature flags such as 'external-general-entities' or 'external-parameter-entities' are not explicitly set to false).

You are affected if Apache ActiveMQ version 5.0.0 through 5.5.1 (or any version before 5.10.1) is installed AND XPath-based message selectors are used to process XML messages with external entity processing enabled in the XML parser.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Apache ActiveMQ 5.10.1 or later. As a temporary workaround, disable external entity processing in the XML parser configuration or validate/sanitize XML messages before processing.

Recommended fix High confidence

5.10.1 or later (5.x series)

  1. 1. Backup your current Apache ActiveMQ installation and configuration
  2. 2. Download Apache ActiveMQ version 5.10.1 or later from the official Apache ActiveMQ distribution site (activemq.apache.org)
  3. 3. Stop the currently running ActiveMQ service
  4. 4. Replace the existing ActiveMQ installation directory with the new version
  5. 5. Restore your configuration files (ensure they are compatible with the new version)
  6. 6. Start the ActiveMQ service
  7. 7. Verify the service is running correctly and test that XPath-based selectors work properly
Caveat Review release notes for 5.10.x for any configuration or feature changes that may affect your setup

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Activemq Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-3600 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data