dbcve.org
NifiApplication · Apache

CVE-2017-12623

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-10-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An authorized user could upload a template which contained malicious code and accessed sensitive files via an XML External Entity (XXE) attack. The fix to properly handle XML External Entities was applied on the Apache NiFi 1.4.0 release. Users running a prior 1.x release should upgrade to the appropriate release.

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

An XXE vulnerability in Apache NiFi allowed authorized users to upload templates containing malicious XML that could access sensitive files on the server due to improper handling of XML External Entities.

MitigationUpgrade to Apache NiFi 1.4.0 or later release to obtain the fix that properly handles XML External Entities.

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
NifiApplication
Affected:= 1.0.0= 1.0.1= 1.1.0= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.2.0= 1.3.0

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
None
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Identify Apache NiFi version
    Check the NiFi version by accessing the NiFi UI footer, or checking the nifi-version.properties file in the NiFi installation directory, or running: cat $NIFI_HOME/conf/nifi-version.properties
    Affected if The installed version is 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.1.0, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.0, or 1.3.0
  2. Verify template upload capability is accessible
    Confirm the Templates feature is available in the NiFi UI by checking if the Templates menu item appears in the navigation, or check if users have the ability to upload XML files as templates
    Affected if Users with template creation or upload permissions exist in the NiFi instance
  3. Confirm XML template processing is enabled
    Verify the NiFi flow XML parsing is active by checking if templates can be loaded or imported into the NiFi flow. The XXE vulnerability triggers when a malicious XML template is uploaded and parsed by the system
    Affected if Template upload and parsing functionality is operational and accessible to authorized users

You are affected if your NiFi version matches 1.0.0 through 1.3.0 and authorized users can upload or import XML templates into the NiFi flow.

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 to Apache NiFi 1.4.0 or later release to obtain the fix that properly handles XML External Entities.

Fix this in Nifi Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2017-12623 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
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