dom4j allows External Entities by default which might enable XXE attacks
dom4j before 2.1.3 allows external DTDs and External Entities by default, which might enable XXE attacks. However, there is popular external documentation from OWASP showing how to enable the safe, non-default behavior in any application that uses dom4j.
Note: This advisory applies to dom4j:dom4j version 1.x legacy artifacts. To resolve this a change to the latest version of org.dom4j:dom4j is recommended.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | dom4j:dom4j | <= 1.6.1 | no fix |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.dom4j:dom4j | < 2.0.3, >= 2.1.0, < 2.1.3 | 2.0.3, 2.1.3 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10683
- https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/issues/87
- https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commit/1707bf3d898a8ada3b213acb0e3b38f16eaae73d
- https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commit/a8228522a99a02146106672a34c104adbda5c658
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4575-1
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200518-0002
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb1b990d7920ae0d50da5109b73b92bab736d46c9788dd4b135cb1a51@%3Cnotifications.freemarker.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91c64cd51e68e97d524395474eaa25362d564572276b9917fcbf5c32@%3Cdev.velocity.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r51f3f9801058e47153c0ad9bc6209d57a592fc0e7aefd787760911b8@%3Cdev.velocity.apache.org%3E
- https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/releases/tag/version-2.1.3
- https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commits/version-2.0.3
- https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j
- https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/XML_External_Entity_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.html
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1694235
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00061.html
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-611- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
dom4j:dom4j, org.dom4j:dom4j- Disclosed
- 05.06.2020
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 12:21
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-hwj3-m3p6-hj38 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: dom4j:dom4j
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 2
- First → latest
- 10.2018 06.2020
- Without a fix
- 2
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 1
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 0
- 2020: 1
- 2021: 0
- 2022: 0
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 0
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