CVE-2014-5325
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 · uneditedThe (1) DOMConverter, (2) JDOMConverter, (3) DOM4JConverter, and (4) XOMConverter functions in Direct Web Remoting (DWR) through 2.0.10 and 3.x through 3.0.RC2 allow remote attackers to read arbitrary files via DOM data containing an XML external entity declaration in conjunction with an entity reference, related to an XML External Entity (XXE) issue.
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 confidenceDirect Web Remoting (DWR) contains an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in multiple converter functions (DOMConverter, JDOMConverter, DOM4JConverter, XOMConverter). Attackers can craft malicious XML with external entity declarations to read arbitrary files from the server's filesystem.
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<= 2.0.10= 3.0CVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate DWR installationSearch for dwr.jar or dwr libraries in your application classpath, webapp directories (WEB-INF/lib), or dependency management files (pom.xml, build.gradle)Affected if DWR library is found in the application
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Identify DWR versionInspect the dwr.jar manifest file, or check the version in your dependency management system (Maven/Gradle), or look for version strings in dwr*.jar filenameAffected if Version is 2.0.10 or lower, or exactly 3.0 (3.0.RC1 or 3.0.RC2)
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Find converter configurationLook in dwr.xml or spring-dwr.xml configuration files for converter definitions. Search for converter entries using class attributes: org.directwebremoting.convert.DOMConverter, org.directwebremoting.convert.JDOMConverter, org.directwebremoting.convert.DOM4JConverter, or org.directwebremoting.convert.XOMConverterAffected if Any of these four converters are explicitly configured and enabled
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Check for XML input endpointsIdentify DWR remoted Java classes that accept XML parameters (String, Document, or XML-specific objects). Review your remote.java files and DWR exposed methods for XML input handlingAffected if Application accepts XML data through DWR remoted methods that use the vulnerable converters
Your environment is affected if DWR version 2.0.10 or lower (or 3.0) is running AND any of the four XML converters (DOM, JDOM, DOM4J, XOM) are enabled AND your application accepts XML input processed by those converters.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade DWR to version 2.0.11 or later / 3.0.RC3 or later. As a compensating control, disable external entity resolution in XML parsers or implement input validation for XML data.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-5325 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-5325 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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