8.1
HIGH
CVE-2023-23926
Neo4j APOC XML External Entity Injection Vulnerability
Description

APOC (Awesome Procedures on Cypher) is an add-on library for Neo4j. An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability found in the apoc.import.graphml procedure of APOC core plugin prior to version 5.5.0 and 4.4.0.14 (4.4 branch) in Neo4j graph database. XML External Entity (XXE) injection occurs when the XML parser allows external entities to be resolved. The XML parser used by the apoc.import.graphml procedure was not configured in a secure way and therefore allowed this. External entities can be used to read local files, send HTTP requests, and perform denial-of-service attacks on the application. Abusing the XXE vulnerability enabled assessors to read local files remotely. Although with the level of privileges assessors had this was limited to one-line files. With the ability to write to the database, any file could have been read. Additionally, assessors noted, with local testing, the server could be crashed by passing in improperly formatted XML. The minimum version containing a patch for this vulnerability is 5.5.0. Those who cannot upgrade the library can control the allowlist of the procedures that can be used in your system.

INFO

Published Date :

Feb. 16, 2023, 4:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

April 14, 2023, 9:15 p.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

Yes !

Impact Score :

5.2

Exploitability Score :

2.8
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2023-23926 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Neo4j awesome_procedures_on_cyper
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2023-23926.

URL Resource
https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/pull/310 Patch
https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/releases/tag/5.5.0 Release Notes
https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/security/advisories/GHSA-6wxg-wh7f-rqpr Vendor Advisory
https://neo4j.com/docs/operations-manual/current/reference/configuration-settings/#config_dbms.security.procedures.allowlist Product

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2023-23926 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2023-23926 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Apr. 14, 2023

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Changed Description APOC (Awesome Procedures on Cypher) is an add-on library for Neo4j. An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability found in the apoc.import.graphml procedure of APOC core plugin prior to version 5.5.0 in Neo4j graph database. XML External Entity (XXE) injection occurs when the XML parser allows external entities to be resolved. The XML parser used by the apoc.import.graphml procedure was not configured in a secure way and therefore allowed this. External entities can be used to read local files, send HTTP requests, and perform denial-of-service attacks on the application. Abusing the XXE vulnerability enabled assessors to read local files remotely. Although with the level of privileges assessors had this was limited to one-line files. With the ability to write to the database, any file could have been read. Additionally, assessors noted, with local testing, the server could be crashed by passing in improperly formatted XML. The minimum version containing a patch for this vulnerability is 5.5.0. Those who cannot upgrade the library can control the allowlist of the procedures that can be used in your system. APOC (Awesome Procedures on Cypher) is an add-on library for Neo4j. An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability found in the apoc.import.graphml procedure of APOC core plugin prior to version 5.5.0 and 4.4.0.14 (4.4 branch) in Neo4j graph database. XML External Entity (XXE) injection occurs when the XML parser allows external entities to be resolved. The XML parser used by the apoc.import.graphml procedure was not configured in a secure way and therefore allowed this. External entities can be used to read local files, send HTTP requests, and perform denial-of-service attacks on the application. Abusing the XXE vulnerability enabled assessors to read local files remotely. Although with the level of privileges assessors had this was limited to one-line files. With the ability to write to the database, any file could have been read. Additionally, assessors noted, with local testing, the server could be crashed by passing in improperly formatted XML. The minimum version containing a patch for this vulnerability is 5.5.0. Those who cannot upgrade the library can control the allowlist of the procedures that can be used in your system.
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Feb. 24, 2023

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/pull/310 No Types Assigned https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/pull/310 Patch
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/releases/tag/5.5.0 No Types Assigned https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/releases/tag/5.5.0 Release Notes
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/security/advisories/GHSA-6wxg-wh7f-rqpr No Types Assigned https://github.com/neo4j/apoc/security/advisories/GHSA-6wxg-wh7f-rqpr Vendor Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://neo4j.com/docs/operations-manual/current/reference/configuration-settings/#config_dbms.security.procedures.allowlist No Types Assigned https://neo4j.com/docs/operations-manual/current/reference/configuration-settings/#config_dbms.security.procedures.allowlist Product
    Added CWE NIST CWE-611
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:neo4j:awesome_procedures_on_cyper:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 5.5.0
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2023-23926 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2023-23926 weaknesses.

Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

0.20 }} 0.01%

score

0.57754

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability