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KarafApplication · Apache

CVE-2018-11788

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-01-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.1.7 or later.
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
Apache Karaf provides a features deployer, which allows users to "hot deploy" a features XML by dropping the file directly in the deploy folder. The features XML is parsed by XMLInputFactory class. Apache Karaf XMLInputFactory class doesn't contain any mitigation codes against XXE. This is a potential security risk as an user can inject external XML entities in Apache Karaf version prior to 4.1.7 or 4.2.2. It has been fixed in Apache Karaf 4.1.7 and 4.2.2 releases.

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 Karaf's features deployer is vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection. The XMLInputFactory class used to parse features XML files dropped in the deploy folder lacks XXE mitigation, allowing attackers to inject malicious external XML entities by placing crafted XML files in the deploy directory.

MitigationUpgrade to Apache Karaf 4.1.7, 4.2.2, or later versions which contain XXE protection in the XMLInputFactory. Alternatively, restrict file access to the deploy folder and disable the features deployer if upgrading is not feasible.

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
KarafApplication
Affected:< 4.1.7>= 4.2.0, <= 4.2.1= 4.2.0

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
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 Apache Karaf version
    Run 'karaf --version' or check the 'etc/org.apache.karaf.version.properties' file, or inspect the Karaf JAR manifest
    Affected if The installed version is less than 4.1.7, or is 4.2.0, or is 4.2.1
  2. Verify features deployer is enabled
    Check for the presence of the 'features-deployer' feature or the 'org.apache.karaf.deployer.features.cfg' configuration file in the 'etc' directory
    Affected if The features deployer feature is installed or the deployer configuration exists in the environment
  3. Confirm deploy folder is accessible
    Locate the deploy folder (typically 'deploy/' in the Karaf root directory) and verify it exists and has appropriate file permissions
    Affected if The deploy directory exists and is accessible for placing XML files
  4. Inspect XML parsing configuration
    Examine the features deployer JAR or source code for XMLInputFactory usage; look for whether XXE protection (such as disabling external entities) is configured in XML parsing code
    Affected if The XMLInputFactory used for parsing features XML lacks XXE mitigation settings such as XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD or XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA

You are affected if Apache Karaf versions 4.2.0, 4.2.1, or any version below 4.1.7 are running with the features deployer enabled and the deploy folder is accessible.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.1.7 or later
Fixed in 4.1.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Apache Karaf 4.1.7, 4.2.2, or later versions which contain XXE protection in the XMLInputFactory. Alternatively, restrict file access to the deploy folder and disable the features deployer if upgrading is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apache Karaf 4.1.7 or 4.2.2 (depending on current version branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current Apache Karaf version in use (check Karaf version file or startup logs)
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are on: if version < 4.1.7, plan upgrade to 4.1.7; if version >= 4.2.0 and <= 4.2.1, plan upgrade to 4.2.2
  3. 3. Review the Apache Karaf 4.1.7 and 4.2.2 release notes for any changes relevant to your deployment
  4. 4. Create a backup of current Karaf installation and configuration
  5. 5. Download Apache Karaf 4.1.7 (for pre-4.1.7 installs) or 4.2.2 (for 4.2.x installs) from the official Apache Karaf distribution
  6. 6. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment to verify application compatibility
  7. 7. Deploy the upgraded version to production

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

Fix this in Karaf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2018-11788 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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