Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain MitM or compromise monitored XML endpoint
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DeliveryInject malicious DOCTYPE with external entity into XML response
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ExploitOpenNMS XML collector parses attacker-controlled response
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ExecutionParser resolves external entity reference
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PersistOpenNMS service account reads targeted local file
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ImpactFile contents exfiltrated via out-of-band DNS or HTTP request
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A02:2025 - Security Misconfiguration
ASVS 5.0
V13 - Configuration XML external entity prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that: (1) the OpenNMS XML collector is configured and actively polling one or more HTTP or network-accessible XML data sources; and (2) the attacker either controls the response from one of those monitored endpoints (via host compromise) or occupies a network MitM position on the path between OpenNMS and the target URL. No authentication to OpenNMS itself is required. The vulnerability is limited to deployments where the XML collector feature is in use - installations that collect data only via SNMP, JMX, or other non-XML collectors are not exposed. Because OpenNMS is designed for internal-network deployment, the MitM prerequisite limits the realistic attacker pool to insiders or attackers already present on the monitoring VLAN. Out-of-band exfiltration further requires that the OpenNMS host can initiate outbound DNS or HTTP connections to attacker-controlled infrastructure. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.9 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) is well-calibrated: the network vector reflects that OpenNMS contacts remote monitored hosts over HTTP, but AC:H correctly captures the non-trivial precondition of attaining a MitM position or compromising a monitored endpoint. Confidentiality impact is genuinely high - the OpenNMS service account typically has read access to configuration files containing database credentials, which are the primary exfiltration target. Integrity and availability are unaffected by the XXE vector itself. No EPSS data was provided and no CISA KEV listing is present, which together with the AC:H prerequisite suggests this is not under active mass exploitation. However, the confidentiality consequence (credential theft leading to database compromise) means that even a mid-sized municipal IT team in malbork using OpenNMS for infrastructure monitoring should treat patching as urgent rather than routine. OpenNMS's own documentation notes the product is intended for deployment within private networks only, which substantially limits internet-facing exposure but does not eliminate the insider-threat or compromised-node scenario. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has compromised a server that OpenNMS monitors via the XML collector (or who holds a network MitM position on the path to an HTTP-based XML data source) modifies the response to include a malicious DOCTYPE declaration referencing an external entity pointing to a local file such as |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 10, 2026
XML External Entity injection in the OpenNMS Meridian and Horizon XML collector allows an attacker who controls a monitored endpoint's HTTP response - via a compromised host or a network man-in-the-middle position - to force the OpenNMS service to resolve external entities, exfiltrating files readable by the service account, including database credentials. Affected versions span all releases of both Meridian and Horizon prior to the fixed versions. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; vendor-released patches are available in Meridian 2024.3.13 / 2025.0.10 and Horizon 36.0.4.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to OpenNMS Meridian 2024.3.13 or 2025.0.10 (for the respective Meridian release trains) or to OpenNMS Horizon 36.0.4 or newer. The fix is confirmed by vendor-released patch per the OpenNMS advisory and implemented in PR #8782. If immediate upgrade is not possible, operators should restrict the XML collector to trusted internal endpoints only, ensuring that no monitored HTTP XML source is routable from an untrusted network segment. Network-level controls such as restricting egress from the OpenNMS server to known-safe IP ranges can limit the out-of-band exfiltration channel, though this does not prevent file-read via DNS-based OOB. Do not expose OpenNMS directly to the internet, consistent with the vendor's own deployment guidance.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 2 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference) in the AbstractXmlCollectionHandler.java component of OpenNMS's XML collection protocol (protocols/xml). The handler previously instantiated DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance() without disabling external entity or DTD resolution, and passed collected XML through XSLT transformations using StreamSource without any URI resolver restriction. The fix (PR #8782) introduces newSecureDocumentBuilderFactory() and newSecureXmlReader(), both of which enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING, explicitly disable external-general-entities and external-parameter-entities SAX features, and make a best-effort attempt to disable Xerces-specific load-external-dtd. XSLT transformations are additionally hardened with a blanket-deny URIResolver that blocks xsl:import, xsl:include, the document() function, and external DTDs. Affected CPEs are cpe:2.3:a:the_opennms_group:meridian:* and cpe:2.3:a:the_opennms_group:horizon:*.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
AC:H reflects the MitM or compromised-host prerequisite; C:H captures service-account file read including database credentials; I:N and A:N because the XXE path offers no write or denial-of-service capability.
Primary rating from Vendor (OpenNMS).
CVSS VectorVendor: OpenNMS
DescriptionCVE.org
An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability exists in the XML collector of multiple versions of OpenNMS Meridian and Horizon. When OpenNMS collects XML from a source whose response is attacker-controlled (for example a compromised monitored host or an HTTP man-in-the-middle position), the collector's XML parser resolves external entities and external DTDs. This allows an attacker to read files accessible to the OpenNMS service account, including database credentials, and to induce out-of-band requests.
The solution is to upgrade to Meridian 2024.3.13, 2025.0.10 and Horizon 36.0.4 or newer. Meridian and Horizon installation instructions state that they are intended for installation within an organization's private networks and should not be directly accessible from the Internet.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
XML External Entity (XXE) attacks exploit XML parsers that process Document Type Definitions (DTDs) without proper restrictions.
In OpenMNS Horizon 31.0.8 and versions earlier than 32.0.2 and related Meridian versions, any user that has the ROLE_FIL
The Horizon REST API includes a users endpoint in OpenMNS Horizon 31.0.8 and versions earlier than 32.0.2 on multiple pl
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-1-0-stable through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-1-0-stable through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-17.0.0-1 through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation-2
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-18.0.0-1 through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation-2
Unauthenticated authorization bypass in the OpenNMS Meridian and Horizon REST API lets any remote attacker who can reach
A BeanShell interpreter in remote server mode runs in OpenMNS Horizon versions earlier than 32.0.2 and in related Meridi
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-1-0-stable through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-1-0-stable through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation
OpenNMS Meridian 2016, 2017, 2018 before 2018.1.25, 2019 before 2019.1.16, and 2020 before 2020.1.5, Horizon 1.2 through
In OpenNMS Horizon, versions opennms-1-0-stable through opennms-27.1.0-1; OpenNMS Meridian, versions meridian-foundation
EUVD-2026-75725
GHSA-9hqx-g6f2-rj2p
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB