Unauthenticated code execution via unsafe XPath evaluation
Published Jul 1, 2024 · Updated Oct 21, 2025
Eval injection in affected GeoServer releases allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through unauthenticated OGC requests. The GeoTools API passes attacker-controlled property names for simple feature types to Commons JXPath as executable XPath expressions rather than treating them only as attributes. Default installations and all instances are exposed through WFS, WMS, or WPS request parameters, granting code execution with the GeoServer process's privileges.
Summary
What happened
Eval injection in affected GeoServer releases allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through unauthenticated OGC requests. The GeoTools API passes attacker-controlled property names for simple feature types to Commons JXPath as executable XPath expressions rather than treating them only as attributes. Default installations and all instances are exposed through WFS, WMS, or WPS request parameters, granting code execution with the GeoServer process's privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-36401
- Published
- Jul 1, 2024
- Updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- Vendor
- GeoWebCache
- Product
- GeoServer
- Classifications
- CWE-95, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 1, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 21, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <2.23.6
- Affected versionversion=< 2.22.6
- Affected versionversion=>= 2.23.0, < 2.23.6
- Affected versionversion=>= 2.24.0, < 2.24.4
- Affected versionversion=2.24.0 <2.24.4
- Affected versionversion=>= 2.25.0, < 2.25.2
- Affected versionversion=2.25.0 <2.25.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
View daily counts
| Reporting day | Unique IPs |
|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2026 | Unavailable |
| Sep 10, 2026 | Unavailable |
| Sep 11, 2026 | Unavailable |
| Sep 12, 2026 | Unavailable |
| Sep 13, 2026 | Unavailable |
| Sep 14, 2026 | 12 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 2 |
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- ProjectDiscovery Nuclei CVE-2024-36401 templatefunctional · validated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- GeoServer reports active exploitationreported exploitation
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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