How severe is CVE-2023-42445?

CVE-2023-42445 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.8, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-42445 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (48th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-42445?

CVE-2023-42445 affects Gradle. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-42445?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2023-42445 published?

CVE-2023-42445 was published on 2023-10-06 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-42445

CVE-2023-42445 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gradle with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-611.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.8)
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (48th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-611
Affected product: Gradle
Published: 2023-10-06
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. In some cases, when Gradle parses XML files, resolving XML external entities is not disabled. Combined with an Out Of Band XXE attack (OOB-XXE), just parsing XML can lead to exfiltration of local text files to a remote server. Gradle parses XML files for several purposes. Most of the time, Gradle parses XML files it generated or were already present locally. Only Ivy XML descriptors and Maven POM files can be fetched from remote repositories and parsed by Gradle. In Gradle 7.6.3 and 8.4, resolving XML external entities has been disabled for all use cases to protect against this vulnerability. Gradle will now refuse to parse XML files that have XML external entities.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-42445?: Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. In some cases, when Gradle parses XML files, resolving XML external entities is not disabled. Combined with an Out Of Band XXE attack (OOB-XXE), just parsing XML can lead to exfiltration of local text files to a remote server. Gradle parses XML files for several purposes. Most of the time, Gradle parses XML files it generated or were already present locally. Only Ivy XML descriptors and Maven POM files can be fetched from remote repositories and parsed by Gradle. In Gradle 7.6.3 and 8.4, resolving XML external entities has been disabled for all use cases to protect against this vulnerability. Gradle will now refuse to parse XML files that have XML external entities.
How severe is CVE-2023-42445?: CVE-2023-42445 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.8, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-42445 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (48th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-42445?: CVE-2023-42445 affects Gradle. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-42445?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2023-42445 published?: CVE-2023-42445 was published on 2023-10-06 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:gradle:gradle:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Gradle

CVE-2019-15052 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The HTTP client in Gradle before 5.6 sends authentication credentials originally destined for the configured host. If…
CVE-2016-6199 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): ObjectSocketWrapper.java in Gradle 2.12 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted serialized…
CVE-2021-29428 — High (CVSS 8.8): In Gradle before version 7.0, on Unix-like systems, the system temporary directory can be created with open permissions…
CVE-2021-41588 — High (CVSS 8.1): In Gradle Enterprise before 2021.1.3, a crafted request can trigger deserialization of arbitrary unsafe Java objects.…
CVE-2021-29427 — High (CVSS 8.0): In Gradle from version 5.1 and before version 7.0 there is a vulnerability which can lead to information disclosure…
CVE-2022-23630 — High (CVSS 7.5): Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. In some cases,…

All CVEs affecting Gradle →

Other CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE)) vulnerabilities

CVE-2022-22486 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler 9.4, 9.5, and 10.1 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when…
CVE-2019-14678 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): SAS XML Mapper 9.45 has an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability that can be leveraged by malicious attackers in…
CVE-2015-9280 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): MailEnable before 8.60 allows XXE via an XML document in the request.aspx Options parameter.
CVE-2018-1000838 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): autopsy version <= 4.9.0 contains a XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in CaseMetadata XML Parser that can result…
CVE-2018-1000837 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): UML Designer version <= 8.0.0 contains a XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in XML parser for plugins that can…
CVE-2018-1000835 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): KeePassDX version <= 2.5.0.0beta17 contains a XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in kdbx file parser that can…

Browse all CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE)) vulnerabilities →