CVE-2023-2798Network attack vector

Application crash via recursive DOM ancestor traversal

Published May 25, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Unrestricted recursion in HtmlUnit before 2.70.0 allows remote attackers to crash an embedding application through a crafted webpage. DomNode.getNextElementUpwards recursively ascends ancestor nodes when no acceptable sibling exists, allowing a deeply nested DOM to exhaust the Java call stack. The host application must process attacker-controlled web content with HtmlUnit; successful exploitation interrupts that application without reported data access or modification.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.91%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Unrestricted recursion in HtmlUnit before 2.70.0 allows remote attackers to crash an embedding application through a crafted webpage. DomNode.getNextElementUpwards recursively ascends ancestor nodes when no acceptable sibling exists, allowing a deeply nested DOM to exhaust the Java call stack. The host application must process attacker-controlled web content with HtmlUnit; successful exploitation interrupts that application without reported data access or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-2798
Published
May 25, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
HtmlUnit
Product
HtmlUnit
Classifications
CWE-787, CWE-400, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 25, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <2.70.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

HtmlUnit · HtmlUnitversion=0 <2.70.0

Published CVSS scores

7.5GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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