CVE-2013-2160 Missing XML Validation in Apache CXF

What is CVE-2013-2160?

CVE-2013-2160 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Cxf, published on 19 Aug 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The streaming XML parser in Apache CXF 2.5.x before 2.5.10, 2.6.x before 2.6.7, and 2.7.x before 2.7.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and memory consumption) via crafted XML with a large number of (1) elements, (2) attributes, (3) nested constructs, and possibly other vectors.

Weakness: CWE-399

Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-2160?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-frontend-jaxrs. It affects 1 product.

Products include Apache Cxf.

How do I fix CVE-2013-2160?

Upgrade org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-frontend-jaxrs to a fixed version for your release line: 2.5.10, 2.6.7 or 2.7.4.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2013-2160 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-2160 exists.

Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Cxf

• CVE-2012-2379 XML Signature/Encryption Not Validated in Apache CXF Critical 10.0
• CVE-2026-66909 Apache CXF: Unsafe deserialization of inbound JMS ObjectMessage Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-68079 Apache CXF: DefaultEncryptingCodeDataProvider allows unlimited authorization code replay Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-50628 Apache CXF: OAuth2: Inverted IP Binding Check Defeats Security Control Critical 9.8
• CVE-2025-48913 Apache CXF: Untrusted JMS configuration can lead to RCE Critical 9.8

All Apache Cxf vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-254q-rp36-v2m8, MGASA-2014-0001.