CriticalCVE-2025-58360

    OSGeo GeoServer Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference Vulnerability (CVE-2025-58360)

    Published Last modified In CISA KEV since Sources: pwn.watch, CVE.org, OSV

    What is affected, what to do

    GeoServer is an open source server that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. From version 2.26.0 to before 2.26.2 and before 2.25.6, an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability was identified.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update OSGeo GeoServer to version 2.25.6. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • OSGeo GeoServer gte 2.26.0, < 2.26.2..*
    • OSGeo GeoServer lt *..2.25.6
    Fixed in
    • OSGeo GeoServer 2.25.6

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.2

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: pwn.watch, CVE.org, OSV

    61.2 %

    EPSS score

    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 99.16

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    231.92 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploitedSource: VulnCheck KEV (opens in a new tab) How we classify
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.2
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    61.2 %
    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    99.16
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · automatable · Technical impact: partial
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 12 December 2025
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-611

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw is exploitable over the network with no authentication and no user interaction. Exploitation likelihood is very high, placing CVE-2025-58360 among the CVEs most likely to be attacked. GeoServer has already been mass-scanned and compromised through earlier vulnerabilities. Typical targets are internet-facing spatial data infrastructure run by public authorities, municipalities, utilities and engineering firms — squarely the KRITIS/NIS2 population. The XXE gives attackers local file and credential disclosure plus SSRF into internal networks. CISA does not flag known ransomware use. Patch or wall off internet-exposed instances within 24 hours as a top priority, and handle internal-only instances promptly in your emergency patch cycle.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Find every GeoServer instance, including those embedded in GIS stacks, Docker images such as docker.osgeo.org/geoserver, and vendor applications. Check the version under /geoserver/web/ → "Server Status" or in the gs-main JAR manifest. All versions before 2.25.6 and versions 2.26.0 through 2.26.2 are affected.
      • Patch: Upgrade to GeoServer 2.25.6, 2.26.3 or 2.27.0 (or later). Vendor data on the 2.26.x fix is inconsistent (2.26.2 vs. 2.26.3), so target at least 2.26.3 or the current maintenance release. Back up the data_dir before upgrading.
      • Reduce exposure: If an internet-facing instance can't be patched right away, restrict it to known client networks at the firewall or reverse proxy. Alternatively, temporarily block all POST requests to /geoserver/wms and /geoserver/ows.
      • Hunt for compromise: Review access logs from the past several weeks for POST requests to /geoserver/wms that carry a GetMap XML body (see Detection rules). If you get hits, isolate the instance and preserve evidence.
      • Rotate credentials: If you suspect exploitation, treat every secret readable by the GeoServer process as exposed. That includes datastore passwords (PostGIS, Oracle) in data_dir/workspaces/**/datastore.xml, the contents of data_dir/security/, cloud instance credentials (reachable via SSRF to metadata services), and local config files.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Segmentation / egress filtering: Apply default-deny outbound rules on the GeoServer host, allowing only the required database and tile backends. This kills out-of-band XXE exfiltration (HTTP/FTP/DNS) and SSRF pivoting. Explicitly block 169.254.169.254 and internal management subnets.
      • WAF / reverse proxy rule: Deny request bodies to /geoserver/* that contain <!DOCTYPE, <!ENTITY, SYSTEM " or PUBLIC ". ModSecurity example: SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /geoserver/" "chain,deny,id:1058360" + SecRule REQUEST_BODY "@rx (?i)<!(DOCTYPE|ENTITY)". If your WMS use is read-only, simply disallow POST.
      • Application hardening: Make sure the JVM property ENTITY_RESOLUTION_ALLOWLIST is not set to *, so the restrictive default allowlist stays in effect. Disable OGC services you don't use (WFS-T, WPS) in the service configuration.
      • Host hardening: Run GeoServer/Tomcat/Jetty under a dedicated unprivileged service account. Restrict filesystem read access to the data_dir and application paths. Run containers read-only, with no host mounts of sensitive paths.
      • Least privilege in backends: Give GeoServer database accounts read-only access to the published schemas only. This limits the blast radius if credentials leak.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Web access / proxy logs: Look for POST to /geoserver/wms (or /geoserver/ows?service=WMS) with GetMap in the body and Content-Type application/xml or text/xml. With body logging or WAF audit enabled, search for <!ENTITY. SPL: index=proxy uri_path="/geoserver/*" http_method=POST (request_body="*<!ENTITY*" OR request_body="*<!DOCTYPE*").
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): Outbound HTTP, FTP or DNS from the GeoServer host to unfamiliar destinations shortly after inbound WMS POSTs indicates OOB XXE. Suricata idea: alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"GeoServer XXE CVE-2025-58360"; flow:to_server; http.uri; content:"/geoserver/"; nocase; http.request_body; content:"<!ENTITY"; nocase; sid:9058360;).
      • Linux auditd: Watch for the Java process reading /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, ~/.ssh/ or /proc/self/environ. Rule: -w /etc/passwd -p r -k geoserver_xxe, then filter on exe=*/java with the service account uid.
      • EDR / Sysmon (Linux or Windows): Alert on network connections from java/tomcat* (Sysmon EID 3) to 169.254.169.254 or to internal management ports. On Windows hosts, also watch for file:// or SMB (port 445) access from the Java process, which can indicate UNC-based NTLM hash capture.
      • GeoServer logs: Check data_dir/logs/geoserver.log for parser errors mentioning DOCTYPE, entity or EntityResolver around GetMap requests. Failed XXE attempts often leave traces there.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    GeoServer is an open source server that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. From version 2.26.0 to before 2.26.2 and before 2.25.6, an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability was identified. The application accepts XML input through a specific endpoint /geoserver/wms operation GetMap. However, this input is not sufficiently sanitized or restricted, allowing an attacker to define external entities within the XML request. This issue has been patched in GeoServer 2.25.6, GeoServer 2.26.3, and GeoServer 2.27.0.

    Source: pwn.watch, NVD (NIST), OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    geoservergeoserver
    • < 2.25.6
    • ≥ 2.26.0, < 2.26.2
    • 2.26.0 – < 2.26.2
    • < 2.25.6
    • 2.25.6
    • —
    • 2.26.2
    • 2.25.6

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-611Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

      Base

      The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-611

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited

    References & sources

    • github.comgeoserver/geoserver/security/advisories/GHSA-fjf5-xgmq-5525web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, pwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2025-58360advisory, pwn-watch
    • github.comgeoserver/geoserverpackage
    • osgeo-org.atlassian.netbrowse/GEOS-11682web, Issue tracking, x_refsource_MISC
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-58360web, US government resource, government-resource
    • pwn.watchpwn.watch: OSGeo GeoServer: GeoServer Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference Vulnerabilitypwn-watch
    • osgeo-org.atlassian.netOSGeo advisory: OSGeo GeoServerpwn-watch
    • cisa.govCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogpwn-watch

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    One NVD translation into another language is hidden.

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