XXE in Lucee

CVE-2023-38693

Lucee Server (or simply Lucee) is a dynamic, Java based, tag and scripting language used for rapid web application development. The Lucee REST endpoint is vulnerable to RCE via an XML XXE attack. This vulnerability is fixed in Lucee 5.4.3.2, 5.3.12.1, 5.3.7.59, 5.3.8.236, and 5.3.9.173.

Vulnerability class: XXE (XML External Entity)

Published · last modified .

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: 0.008 (55.8th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 56th percentile — 55.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2023-38693: held from 0.008 to 0.008.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.008 · newest: 0.008 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Lucee — versions >= 5.4.0.0, < 5.4.3.2, >= 5.3.12.0, < 5.3.12.1, < 5.3.7.59

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-38693?
CVE-2023-38693 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Lucee, classified under Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE). CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-03-05.
How severe is CVE-2023-38693?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.