CVE-2017-14868
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 · uneditedRestlet Framework before 2.3.11, when using SimpleXMLProvider, allows remote attackers to access arbitrary files via an XXE attack in a REST API HTTP request. This affects use of the Jax-rs extension.
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 confidenceThe Restlet Framework's SimpleXMLProvider fails to disable XML external entity processing, allowing attackers to craft malicious XML in REST API requests that can read arbitrary files from the server filesystem via XXE injection.
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< 2.3.11CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Restlet Framework is in useSearch for Restlet JAR files in your lib/application directories, or check build configuration files (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle) for org.restlet dependenciesAffected if Restlet Framework is present in the application dependencies or classpath
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Check the installed Restlet Framework versionLocate the restlet JAR file (typically named restlet-*.jar) and examine its filename for the version number, or check the version in your build configurationAffected if The version is lower than 2.3.11 (for example, 2.3.10, 2.3.0, 2.2.x, etc.)
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Determine if SimpleXMLProvider handles XML requestsSearch source code for imports of org.restlet.ext.xml.SimpleXMLProvider or references to SimpleXMLProvider class in data binding or unmarshalling codeAffected if SimpleXMLProvider is used to deserialize XML request bodies in REST endpoints
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Check if REST endpoints accept XML inputReview REST endpoint definitions for @Consumes or equivalent annotations/configurations that accept application/xml or text/xml content typesAffected if The application accepts XML content (Content-Type: application/xml or text/xml) in API requests
You are affected if your application uses Restlet Framework version lower than 2.3.11 and uses SimpleXMLProvider to process incoming XML requests from clients.
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 data2.3.11
Upgrade Restlet Framework to version 2.3.11 or later, or configure the XML parser used by SimpleXMLProvider to disable external entities and DTD processing.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-14868 — 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-2017-14868 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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