CVE-2024-45294 is a high-severity XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability in ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (maven), affecting versions < 6.3.23. It is fixed in 6.3.23.
Impact XSLT transforms performed by various components are vulnerable to XML external entity injections. A processed XML file with a malicious DTD tag ( <!DOCTYPE foo [<!ENTITY example SYSTEM "/etc/passwd"> ]> could produce XML containing data from the host system. This impacts use cases where org.hl7.fhir.core is being used to within a host where external clients can submit XML. Patches This issue has been patched in release 6.3.23 Workarounds None. References MITRE CWE OWASP XML External Entity Prevention Cheat Sheet
An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs. Typical impact: local file disclosure, server-side request forgery, or denial of service.
CVE-2024-45294 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment.
A fixed version is available (6.3.23). Upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
maven
ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (< 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 (< 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4 (< 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b (< 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5 (< 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities (< 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may → 6.3.23 (maven)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 → 6.3.23 (maven)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4 → 6.3.23 (maven)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b → 6.3.23 (maven)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5 → 6.3.23 (maven)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities → 6.3.23 (maven)Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:
ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4 to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5 to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities to 6.3.23 or laterKodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
CVE-2024-45294 is a high-severity XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability in ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (maven), affecting versions < 6.3.23. It is fixed in 6.3.23. An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs.
CVE-2024-45294 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (maven) (versions < 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 (maven) (versions < 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4 (maven) (versions < 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b (maven) (versions < 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5 (maven) (versions < 6.3.23)ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities (maven) (versions < 6.3.23)Yes. CVE-2024-45294 is fixed in 6.3.23. Upgrade to this version or later.
Whether CVE-2024-45294 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4 to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5 to 6.3.23 or laterca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.utilities to 6.3.23 or later