dbcve.org
SoapApplication · Apache

CVE-2022-40705

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
An Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability in RPCRouterServlet of Apache SOAP allows an attacker to read arbitrary files over HTTP. This issue affects Apache SOAP version 2.2 and later versions. It is unknown whether previous versions are also affected. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer

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 (XML External Entity Reference) vulnerability in Apache SOAP's RPCRouterServlet allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files from the server by sending specially crafted XML requests containing external entity references.

MitigationSince Apache SOAP is end-of-life and unsupported, migrate to a maintained SOAP implementation or modern alternative. If continued use is unavoidable, disable XML external entity processing in the servlet's XML parser configuration (disable DTDs and 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
SoapApplication
Affected:>= 2.2

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Identify if Apache SOAP is deployed
    Search for Apache SOAP library files (soap.jar or apache-soap*.jar) in the application server's lib, webapp, or classpath directories. Check web.xml for RPCRouterServlet servlet definition.
    Affected if Apache SOAP libraries are found in the deployment and RPCRouterServlet is defined in web.xml
  2. Verify Apache SOAP version
    Inspect the JAR file manifest or version metadata. Run 'jar tf apache-soap*.jar | grep -i manifest' or examine the META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file inside the JAR.
    Affected if Version is 2.2 or higher
  3. Confirm RPCRouterServlet is exposed
    Check web.xml for a <servlet-mapping> element mapping RPCRouterServlet to a URL pattern (commonly /rpc or /soap). Determine if this endpoint is accessible from the network.
    Affected if RPCRouterServlet is mapped to a publicly accessible URL pattern
  4. Check XML parser configuration for XXE protections
    Review any XML parser initialization code or configuration used by the RPCRouterServlet. Look for parser settings that enable or disable DTDs and external entity processing.
    Affected if XXE protections are disabled, or DTDs and external entities are explicitly enabled in the XML parser configuration

The environment is affected if Apache SOAP version 2.2 or higher is deployed with the RPCRouterServlet accessible and the XML parser configured to allow DTDs or external entity processing.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Since Apache SOAP is end-of-life and unsupported, migrate to a maintained SOAP implementation or modern alternative. If continued use is unavoidable, disable XML external entity processing in the servlet's XML parser configuration (disable DTDs and external entities).

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. 1. Apache SOAP (version 2.2 and later) is no longer supported by the maintainer according to the official description.
  2. 2. No patched version or upgrade path is provided in the referenced sources for this CVE.
  3. 3. If Apache SOAP is still in use, evaluate migrating to a currently supported SOAP implementation or web service framework.
  4. 4. If migration is not feasible, implement network-level restrictions to limit exposure to untrusted HTTP requests targeting the RPCRouterServlet.
  5. 5. Consider decommissioning the affected Apache SOAP deployment if possible, given it is end-of-life.
Caveat There is no upgrade path available as Apache SOAP is no longer supported. Migration to a supported alternative is required.

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

Fix this in Soap 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-2022-40705 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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