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Ubuntu 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS : HtmlUnit vulnerability (USN-8220-1)

high Nessus Plugin ID 314225

Synopsis

The remote Ubuntu host is missing a security update.

Description

The remote Ubuntu 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the USN-8220-1 advisory.

 It was discovered that HtmlUnit was vulnerable to remote code execution via XSLT when browsing an attacker-controlled webpage. An attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code in the context of the application using HtmlUnit.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Update the affected libhtmlunit-java package.

See Also

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8220-1

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 314225

File Name: ubuntu_USN-8220-1.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: Local

Agent: unix

Published: 5/11/2026

Updated: 5/11/2026

Supported Sensors: Nessus Agent, Continuous Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Critical

Base Score: 10

Temporal Score: 7.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2023-49093

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.8

Temporal Score: 7.9

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:libhtmlunit-java

Required KB Items: Host/cpu, Host/Debian/dpkg-l, Host/Ubuntu, Host/Ubuntu/release

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 5/5/2026

Vulnerability Publication Date: 12/4/2023

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2023-49093

USN: 8220-1