What is CVE-2022-35741?

CVE-2022-35741 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apache Cloudstack, classified under Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE). CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2022-07-18.

How severe is CVE-2022-35741?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2022-35741 known to be exploited?

5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

XXE in Apache Cloudstack

CVE-2022-35741

Apache CloudStack version 4.5.0 and later has a SAML 2.0 authentication Service Provider plugin which is found to be vulnerable to XML external entity (XXE) injection. This plugin is not enabled by default and the attacker would require that this plugin be enabled to exploit the vulnerability. When the SAML 2.0 plugin is enabled in affected versions of Apache CloudStack could potentially allow the exploitation of XXE vulnerabilities. The SAML 2.0 messages constructed during the authentication flow in Apache CloudStack are XML-based and the XML data is parsed by various standard libraries that are now understood to be vulnerable to XXE injection attacks such as arbitrary file reading, possible denial of service, server-side request forgery (SSRF) on the CloudStack management server.

Vulnerability class: XXE (XML External Entity)

Published 2022-07-18 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.080 (94.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-22.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 95th percentile — 94.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.081 · newest: 0.080 · change: -0.001

Affected products

Apache Cloudstack — versions 4.17.0.0
Apache Software Foundation Cloudstack — versions 4.5.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-611 — Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

lists.apache.org/thread/hwhxvtwp1d5dsm156bsf1cnyvtmrfv3f (Patch, Mailing List, Mitigation, Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory)
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/07/18/2 (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, Mitigation)
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/07/20/1 (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, Mitigation)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-35741?: CVE-2022-35741 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apache Cloudstack, classified under Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE). CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2022-07-18.
How severe is CVE-2022-35741?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2022-35741 known to be exploited?: 5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.