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OfbizApplication · Apache

CVE-2016-4462

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
By manipulating the URL parameter externalLoginKey, a malicious, logged in user could pass valid Freemarker directives to the Template Engine that are reflected on the webpage; a specially crafted Freemarker template could be used for remote code execution. Mitigation: Upgrade to Apache OFBiz 16.11.01

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

This is a Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerability in Apache OFBiz's Freemarker templating engine. By manipulating the externalLoginKey URL parameter, a malicious authenticated user can inject and execute arbitrary Freemarker template directives that get reflected on the webpage, potentially leading to remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Apache OFBiz to version 16.11.01 or later to patch the vulnerable Freemarker template handling in the externalLoginKey parameter.

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
OfbizApplication
Affected:= 11.04= 11.04.01= 11.04.02= 11.04.03= 11.04.04= 11.04.05= 11.04.06= 12.04= 12.04.01= 12.04.02= 12.04.03= 12.04.04

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 Apache OFBiz version
    Check the version file or build configuration: look for 'gradle.properties' or 'build.gradle' in the OFBiz installation directory, or inspect the startup logs for the version banner
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these: 11.04, 11.04.01, 11.04.02, 11.04.03, 11.04.04, 11.04.05, 11.04.06, 12.04, 12.04.01, 12.04.02, 12.04.03, 12.04.04
  2. Confirm OFBiz web interface is accessible
    Verify the OFBiz web application is running and reachable by accessing the main login page (typically port 8443 for HTTPS or 8080 for HTTP)
    Affected if The OFBiz web interface responds and is accessible over the network
  3. Verify externalLoginKey parameter handling
    Send a test HTTP request to any OFBiz page with an externalLoginKey parameter containing a simple Freemarker test payload such as '${7*7}'. Check if the response reflects the computed value '49' instead of the literal string
    Affected if The externalLoginKey parameter value is processed as a Freemarker expression and the result is reflected in the response (e.g., '${7*7}' returns '49')
  4. Check for vulnerable Freemarker template code
    Locate the template file that handles externalLoginKey (commonly in the 'webtools' or 'security' related templates under the 'framework' directory) and inspect the code for direct embedding of the externalLoginKey parameter into Freemarker directives without proper escaping
    Affected if The externalLoginKey parameter is directly interpolated into Freemarker template code without sanitization (the template uses it in a construct like '<#if externalLoginKey?has_content>')

The environment is affected if Apache OFBiz version is 11.04.x or 12.04.x and the externalLoginKey URL parameter is being interpreted as Freemarker template code rather than treated as a literal string value.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Apache OFBiz to version 16.11.01 or later to patch the vulnerable Freemarker template handling in the externalLoginKey parameter.

Fix this in Ofbiz Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation32.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA12.0 h
76.0 hours of engineering $13,120
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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-2016-4462 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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