Plexus Archiver vulnerable to Arbitrary File Creation in AbstractUnArchiver
Published Jul 25, 2023
9.8
CRITICALCVSS 3.1
EPSS 2.48%
Description
Plexis Archiver is a collection of Plexus components to create archives or extract archives to a directory with a unified `Archiver`/`UnArchiver` API. Prior to version 4.8.0, using AbstractUnArchiver for extracting an archive might lead to an arbitrary file creation and possibly remote code execution. When extracting an archive with an entry that already exists in the destination directory as a symbolic link whose target does not exist - the `resolveFile()` function will return the symlink's source instead of its target, which will pass the verification that ensures the file will not be extracted outside of the destination directory. Later `Files.newOutputStream()`, that follows symlinks by default, will actually write the entry's content to the symlink's target. Whoever uses plexus archiver to extract an untrusted archive is vulnerable to an arbitrary file creation and possibly remote code execution. Version 4.8.0 contains a patch for this issue.
Affected products
-
- Version < 4.8.0StatusaffectedConstraints-
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codehaus-Plexus | Plexus-Archiver | n/a |
|
- < 4.8.0
-
- Version 0StatusaffectedConstraints<4.8.0
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codehaus-Plexus | Plexus-Archiver | n/a |
|
Migration Toolkit for Runtimes 1 on RHEL 8
plexus-archiver
Fixed · RHSA-2023:6138
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
plexus-archiver-0:2.4.2-6.el7_9
Fixed · RHSA-2023:6886
A-MQ Clients 2
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Cryostat 2
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift
openshift-logging/elasticsearch6-rhel8
Affected
Migration Toolkit for Applications 6
plexus-archiver
Affected
OpenShift Serverless
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat AMQ Broker 7
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Data Grid 8
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Decision Manager 7
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Fuse 7
plexus-archiver
Fix deferred
Red Hat Integration Camel K 1
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Integration Camel Quarkus 2
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 7
plexus-archiver
Out of support scope
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6
plexus-archiver
Out of support scope
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6
plexus-archiver
Out of support scope
Red Hat JBoss Fuse Service Works 6
plexus-archiver
Out of support scope
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Process Automation 7
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat Single Sign-On 7
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 3
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 2
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat build of Debezium 2
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat build of OptaPlanner 8
plexus-archiver
Not affected
Red Hat support for Spring Boot
plexus-archiver
Not affected
streams for Apache Kafka
plexus-archiver
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration Toolkit for Runtimes 1 on RHEL 8 | plexus-archiver | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6138 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | plexus-archiver-0:2.4.2-6.el7_9 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6886 |
| A-MQ Clients 2 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Cryostat 2 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift | openshift-logging/elasticsearch6-rhel8 | Affected | n/a |
| Migration Toolkit for Applications 6 | plexus-archiver | Affected | n/a |
| OpenShift Serverless | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat AMQ Broker 7 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Data Grid 8 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Decision Manager 7 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | plexus-archiver | Fix deferred | n/a |
| Red Hat Integration Camel K 1 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Integration Camel Quarkus 2 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 7 | plexus-archiver | Out of support scope | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 | plexus-archiver | Out of support scope | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6 | plexus-archiver | Out of support scope | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Fuse Service Works 6 | plexus-archiver | Out of support scope | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Process Automation 7 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Single Sign-On 7 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 3 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 2 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat build of Debezium 2 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat build of OptaPlanner 8 | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat support for Spring Boot | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
| streams for Apache Kafka | plexus-archiver | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
There are factors beyond the attacker's control. For example, the victim's server must have an incomplete SSH server configuration by not having the "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" existent and also having an SSH Server Port externally accessible. So, an attacker would need, even in other scenarios, to gather configuration settings and previous knowledge about the environment in order to have a successful attack. The impact is Important as code execution might happen, but it is not guaranteed. Red Hat Fuse 7 contains plexus-archiver as a transitive dependency and does not make it vulnerable during runtime, hence the low impact.
Red Hat mitigation
No mitigations are available for this issue.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
1 other source (GHSA) ▾
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v2.0 score for this CVE.
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
PoCAutomatable
NoTechnical Impact
TotalDecision
n/aAssessed Oct 3, 2024 · SSVC 2.0.3
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2023–2026- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (19 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2.48% (0.02482) | 84.01th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02070) | 78.89th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| May 21, 2026 | 37.91% (0.37911) | 97.27th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 5, 2026 | 36.56% (0.36558) | 97.05th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 15, 2026 | 40.69% (0.40685) | 97.27th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jan 3, 2026 | 38.44% (0.38439) | 97.12th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Nov 21, 2025 | 35.19% (0.35188) | 96.85th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Nov 18, 2025 | 7.10% (0.07103) | 90.64th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Aug 12, 2025 | 36.05% (0.36046) | 96.95th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Apr 15, 2025 | 29.96% (0.29960) | 96.31th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 30, 2025 | 7.10% (0.07103) | 90.66th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 20.95% (0.20951) | 92.87th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 7.10% (0.07103) | 90.87th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 1.36% (0.01358) | 86.77th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 24, 2024 | 0.46% (0.00463) | 75.57th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 31, 2024 | 0.45% (0.00454) | 75.21th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Feb 8, 2024 | 0.40% (0.00404) | 73.01th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Aug 4, 2023 | 0.40% (0.00404) | 70.26th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 26, 2023 | 0.07% (0.00068) | 27.96th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
References (9)
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-37460 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2242288 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wh3p-fphp-9h2m Advisory
- https://github.com/codehaus-plexus/plexus-archiver/commit/54759839fbdf85caf8442076f001d5fd64e0dcb2 x_refsource_MISCPatch
- https://github.com/codehaus-plexus/plexus-archiver/releases/tag/plexus-archiver-4.8.0 x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes
- https://github.com/codehaus-plexus/plexus-archiver/security/advisories/GHSA-wh3p-fphp-9h2m x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitVendor Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37460
- https://research.jfrog.com/vulnerabilities/plexus-archiver-arbitrary-file-overwrite-xray-526292/
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-37460
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-37460 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2242288 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wh3p-fphp-9h2m | Advisory | |
| https://github.com/codehaus-plexus/plexus-archiver/commit/54759839fbdf85caf8442076f001d5fd64e0dcb2 | x_refsource_MISCPatch | |
| https://github.com/codehaus-plexus/plexus-archiver/releases/tag/plexus-archiver-4.8.0 | x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes | |
| https://github.com/codehaus-plexus/plexus-archiver/security/advisories/GHSA-wh3p-fphp-9h2m | x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitVendor Advisory | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37460 | ||
| https://research.jfrog.com/vulnerabilities/plexus-archiver-arbitrary-file-overwrite-xray-526292/ | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-37460 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.