- java
- security
- XXE
- basic protection set
- OWASP Top 10
When the XML processor is not configured correctly to handle references and entities, it may be susceptible to so-called XML external entities (XXE) attacks.
In order to prevent XXE vulnerabilities, the XML processor needs to be configured correctly. As stated on the OWASP XXE Cheat Sheet: "The safest way to prevent XXE is always to disable DTDs (External Entities) completely. Depending on the parser, the method should be similar to the following: factory.setFeature("http://apache.org/xml/features/disallow-doctype-decl", true);. If it is not possible to disable DTDs completely, then external entities and external document type declarations must be disabled in the way that's specific to each parser." For specific instructions per parser we refer to the OWASP XXE Cheat Sheet as well.
id: scw:xxe:documentbuilderfactory-missing-setexpandentityreferences
version: 10
metadata:
name: 'XXE: DocumentBuilderFactory: Add missing feature setExpandEntityReferences'
shortDescription: Could lead to XXE
level: error
language: java
newCodeOnly: false
scwCategory: injection:xml
cweCategory: 611
enabled: true
descriptionFile: Java/XML/descriptions/XXE.html
tags: security;XXE;basic protection set;OWASP Top 10
search:
methodcall:
not:
followedBy:
methodcall:
name: setExpandEntityReferences
name: newInstance
declaration:
type: javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory
availableFixes:
- name: Set ExpandEntityReferences feature to false
actions:
- addMethodCall:
name: setExpandEntityReferences
arguments:
- "false"
position: first-available-spot