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CVE-2026-24400 - AssertJ has XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability when parsing untrusted XML via isXmlEqualTo assertion

CVE ID : CVE-2026-24400
Published : Jan. 26, 2026, 11:16 p.m. | 29 minutes ago
Description : AssertJ provides Fluent testing assertions for Java and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Starting in version 1.4.0 and prior to version 3.27.7, an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability exists in `org.assertj.core.util.xml.XmlStringPrettyFormatter`: the `toXmlDocument(String)` method initializes `DocumentBuilderFactory` with default settings, without disabling DTDs or external entities. This formatter is used by the `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` assertion for `CharSequence` values. An application is vulnerable only when it uses untrusted XML input with either `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` from `org.assertj.core.api.AbstractCharSequenceAssert` or `xmlPrettyFormat(String)` from `org.assertj.core.util.xml.XmlStringPrettyFormatter`. If untrusted XML input is processed by tone of these methods, an attacker couldnread arbitrary local files via `file://` URIs (e.g., `/etc/passwd`, application configuration files); perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) via HTTP/HTTPS URIs, and/or cause Denial of Service via "Billion Laughs" entity expansion attacks. `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` has been deprecated in favor of XMLUnit in version 3.18.0 and will be removed in version 4.0. Users of affected versions should, in order of preference: replace `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` with XMLUnit, upgrade to version 3.27.7, or avoid using `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` or `XmlStringPrettyFormatter` with untrusted input. `XmlStringPrettyFormatter` has historically been considered a utility for `isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)` rather than a feature for AssertJ users, so it is deprecated in version 3.27.7 and removed in version 4.0, with no replacement.
Severity: 8.2 | HIGH
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