AssertJ has XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability when parsing untrusted XML via isXmlEqualTo assertion (assertj assertj)

CVE-2026-24400
HIGH 8.2

At a glance

Source
NVD
EPSS
EPSS 0.57 % · percentile 47 ()
State
PUBLISHED
Published
Updated
Assigner
GitHub_M
NVD status
Analyzed

Description

AssertJ provides Fluent testing assertions for Java and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Starting in version 1.4.0 and prior to version 3.27.7, an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability exists in `org.assertj.core.util.xml.XmlStringPrettyFormatter`: the `toXmlDocument(String)` method initializes `DocumentBuilderFactory` with default settings, without disabling DTDs or external entities. This formatter is used by the `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` assertion for `CharSequence` values. An application is vulnerable only when it uses untrusted XML input with either `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` from `org.assertj.core.api.AbstractCharSequenceAssert` or `xmlPrettyFormat(String)` from `org.assertj.core.util.xml.XmlStringPrettyFormatter`. If untrusted XML input is processed by tone of these methods, an attacker couldnread arbitrary local files via `file://` URIs (e.g., `/etc/passwd`, application configuration files); perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) via HTTP/HTTPS URIs, and/or cause Denial of Service via "Billion Laughs" entity expansion attacks. `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` has been deprecated in favor of XMLUnit in version 3.18.0 and will be removed in version 4.0. Users of affected versions should, in order of preference: replace `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` with XMLUnit, upgrade to version 3.27.7, or avoid using `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` or `XmlStringPrettyFormatter` with untrusted input. `XmlStringPrettyFormatter` has historically been considered a utility for `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` rather than a feature for AssertJ users, so it is deprecated in version 3.27.7 and removed in version 4.0, with no replacement.

Weaknesses (CWE)

  • CWE-611 — Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

References

Scores

VersionScoreVectorScored by
CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:H/SI:N/SA:NGitHub_M
CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XNVD · security-advisories@github.com (Secondary)
CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:HNVD · nvd@nist.gov (Primary)

Advisories

European references

Affected configurations (NVD CPE)

Affected products

ProductVersions
assertj · assertjaffected >= 1.4.0, < 3.27.7

Sources

SourceLicence
CVE List (CVEProject cvelistV5)CVE Program Terms of Use
EPSS (FIRST.org)FIRST — attribution requested
ENISA EUVDENISA — reproduction authorised, source acknowledged
NVD (NIST) via fkie-cad/nvd-json-data-feedsPublic domain — this product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD