REDHAT-BUG-2433116: SSRF

Published Jan 26, 2026
·
Updated

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.

Affected Software

1 affected component
AssertJ assertj-core>=1.4.0<3.27.7

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade org.assertj:assertj-core to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.27.7
  2. Remove

    Remove org.assertj:assertj-core (XmlStringPrettyFormatter utility) from your environment.

    If you are on versions where XmlStringPrettyFormatter is still present and being used, stop using it (it is deprecated in version 3.27.7 and removed in version 4.0, with no replacement).

  3. Configuration

    Do not use isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence) with untrusted XML input (the vulnerability is triggered when these methods process untrusted XML, leading to XXE/SSRF/local file reads/DoS). Prefer replacing isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence) with XMLUnit.

    AssertJ assertions (org.assertj.core.api.AbstractCharSequenceAssert.isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence)) usage_with_untrusted_input = avoid
  4. Configuration

    Avoid using XmlStringPrettyFormatter (including its toXmlDocument(String) behavior) with untrusted XML input. If applicable, replace isXmlEqualTo(CharSequence) with XMLUnit, or upgrade to 3.27.7 to mitigate.

    org.assertj.core.util.xml.XmlStringPrettyFormatter usage_with_untrusted_input = avoid

Event History

Jan 26, 2026
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·11:01 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
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