Description
http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to version 6.50.0.0, there is a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability when http4k handling malicious XML contents within requests, which might allow attackers to read local sensitive information on server, trigger Server-side Request Forgery and even execute code under some circumstances. The original fix shipped in v5.41.0.0 / v4.50.0.0 closed the documented external-entity attack class (SSRF, local-file disclosure, code execution) by setting `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD=""`, `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA=""`, and `isExpandEntityReferences=false` on the default `DocumentBuilderFactory`. A residual gap remained: the parser still accepted documents containing `<!DOCTYPE>` declarations even though external entity resolution was blocked. This left open billion-laughs-style internal entity expansion DoS attacks against any application using `Body.xml()` or `Document.asXmlDocument()` on untrusted XML. v6.50.0.0 closes this residual by adding `disallow-doctype-decl=true` and `FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING=true` to `defaultXmlParsingConfig`. Any document containing a `<!DOCTYPE>` is now rejected at parse time.
Published: 2024-12-12
Score: 9.8 Critical
EPSS: 1.9% Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories
Source ID Title
EUVD EUVD EUVD-2024-3444 http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to version 5.41.0.0, there is a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability when http4k handling malicious XML contents within requests, which might allow attackers to read local sensitive information on server, trigger Server-side Request Forgery and even execute code under some circumstances. Version 5.41.0.0 contains a patch for the issue.
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-7mj5-hjjj-8rgw http4k has a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability
History

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to version 5.41.0.0, there is a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability when http4k handling malicious XML contents within requests, which might allow attackers to read local sensitive information on server, trigger Server-side Request Forgery and even execute code under some circumstances. Version 5.41.0.0 contains a patch for the issue. http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to version 6.50.0.0, there is a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability when http4k handling malicious XML contents within requests, which might allow attackers to read local sensitive information on server, trigger Server-side Request Forgery and even execute code under some circumstances. The original fix shipped in v5.41.0.0 / v4.50.0.0 closed the documented external-entity attack class (SSRF, local-file disclosure, code execution) by setting `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD=""`, `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA=""`, and `isExpandEntityReferences=false` on the default `DocumentBuilderFactory`. A residual gap remained: the parser still accepted documents containing `<!DOCTYPE>` declarations even though external entity resolution was blocked. This left open billion-laughs-style internal entity expansion DoS attacks against any application using `Body.xml()` or `Document.asXmlDocument()` on untrusted XML. v6.50.0.0 closes this residual by adding `disallow-doctype-decl=true` and `FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING=true` to `defaultXmlParsingConfig`. Any document containing a `<!DOCTYPE>` is now rejected at parse time.

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 15:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Thu, 12 Dec 2024 19:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to version 5.41.0.0, there is a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability when http4k handling malicious XML contents within requests, which might allow attackers to read local sensitive information on server, trigger Server-side Request Forgery and even execute code under some circumstances. Version 5.41.0.0 contains a patch for the issue.
Title http4k has a potential XXE (XML External Entity Injection) vulnerability
Weaknesses CWE-200
CWE-611
CWE-918
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 9.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

No data.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-09T10:42:10.658Z

Reserved: 2024-12-11T15:46:36.420Z

Link: CVE-2024-55875

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2024-12-13T14:53:02.044Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Deferred

Published: 2024-12-12T19:15:13.983

Modified: 2026-06-17T08:11:23.553

Link: CVE-2024-55875

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses