GeoServer - RCE (CVE-2024-36401)
Description
GeoServer is an open source server that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. Prior to versions 2.23.6, 2.24.4, and 2.25.2, multiple OGC request parameters allow Remote Code Execution (RCE) by unauthenticated users through specially crafted input against a default GeoServer installation due to unsafely evaluating property names as XPath expressions.
The GeoTools library API that GeoServer calls evaluates property/attribute names for feature types in a way that unsafely passes them to the commons-jxpath library which can execute arbitrary code when evaluating XPath expressions. This XPath evaluation is intended to be used only by complex feature types (i.e., Application Schema data stores) but is incorrectly being applied to simple feature types as well which makes this vulnerability apply to ALL GeoServer instances. No public PoC is provided but this vulnerability has been confirmed to be exploitable through WFS GetFeature, WFS GetPropertyValue, WMS GetMap, WMS GetFeatureInfo, WMS GetLegendGraphic and WPS Execute requests. This vulnerability can lead to executing arbitrary code.
Versions 2.23.6, 2.24.4, and 2.25.2 contain a patch for the issue. A workaround exists by removing the gt-complex-x.y.jar file from the GeoServer where x.y is the GeoTools version (e.g., gt-complex-31.1.jar if running GeoServer 2.25.1). This will remove the vulnerable code from GeoServer but may break some GeoServer functionality or prevent GeoServer from deploying if the gt-complex module is needed.
psychologyCrowdSec Analysis
CVE-2024-36401 is a critical vulnerability impacting GeoServer, allowing unauthenticated attackers to achieve remote code execution by leveraging unsafe evaluation of certain request parameters within geospatial services.
CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 16th of July 2024.
CrowdSec network data shows that most actors exploiting CVE-2024-36401 rely on broad, untargeted scans with minimal filtering. The activity is largely automated and opportunistic in nature. Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2024-36401 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2024-36401 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.
Observed attack patterns often involve requests to URLs containing /geoserver/web or /geoserver/wfs.
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| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| CVE Published | 2024-07-01 |
| CISA KEV | 2024-07-15 |
| Rule Released | 2024-07-16 |
| CISA Remediation Deadline | 2024-08-05 |
| CrowdSec First Seen | 2024-11-23 |
Remediation & Protection
External References
- https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/security/advisories/GHSA-6jj6-gm7p-fcvv
- https://github.com/geotools/geotools/security/advisories/GHSA-w3pj-wh35-fq8w
- https://github.com/geotools/geotools/pull/4797
- https://github.com/Warxim/CVE-2022-41852?tab=readme-ov-file#workaround-for-cve-2022-41852
- https://osgeo-org.atlassian.net/browse/GEOT-7587
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2024/CVE-2024-36401.yaml
- https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/geoserver-rce-cve-2024-36401