OWASP CRS: XML Attribute Value Bypass

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-62971
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-11-11 18:19:47 UTC
Updated2026-11-12 22:18:35 UTC
DescriptionThe OWASP core rule set (CRS) is a set of generic attack detection rules for use with compatible web application firewalls. Prior to versions 3.3.10, 4.25.1, and 4.28.0, CRS rules in the 921 (protocol-attack), 930 (LFI), 931 (RFI), 932 (RCE), 933 (PHP), 934 (generic), 941 (XSS), 942 (SQLi), and 943 (session-fixation) families inspect XML request bodies via the XPath expression XML:/*. That expression matches only element text nodes — it does not match XML attribute values. As a result, an attacker who places an attack payload inside an XML attribute (e.g. <a href="javascript:alert(1)=window.name"></a> or <a value="' OR 1=1 --"></a>) bypasses CRS detection entirely. This is verified empirically against a local CRS test instance and against the public CRS sandbox. The bypass affects approximately 159 rules across 9 rule files and applies at every paranoia level (PL1 through PL4), since the variable list is more or less shared across PLs. The 944 (Java) family is the only one that correctly includes XML://@* in addition to XML:/* and is therefore unaffected. This issue has been patched in versions 3.3.10, 4.25.1, and 4.28.0.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.2 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Problem Types: CWE-138 | CWE-138 CWE-138: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.2HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
3.1CNADECLARED7.2HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Coreruleset Coreruleset affected < 3.3.10 Not specified
CNA Coreruleset Coreruleset affected < 4.25.1 Not specified
CNA Coreruleset Coreruleset affected < 4.28.0 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/coreruleset/coreruleset/commit/635cecf8f81908f02a687db4b5b13a... [email protected] github.com
github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/issues/3591 [email protected] github.com
github.com/coreruleset/coreruleset/commit/852036b6af5e81d60d7234f69137d4... [email protected] github.com
github.com/coreruleset/coreruleset/commit/275d7616f1ceb6f1024c3bfbeb1f4a... [email protected] github.com
github.com/coreruleset/coreruleset/security/advisories/GHSA-6jp8-c2w2-x7wr [email protected] github.com
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