CVE-2014-2053

WordPress Core <= 3.9.1 - XML External Entity (XXE) Weakness

2014-08-06 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.9.2
Affected Core: WordPress 3.9
Affected Version: < 3.9.2
CVSS: 5.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-611 · Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
CVE: CVE-2014-2053

At a glance

CVE-2014-2053 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability in the WordPress 3.9 WordPress release line, affecting < 3.9.2. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.9.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2014, reported by Ivan Novikov.

Vulnerability Overview

getID3() before 1.9.8, as used in ownCloud Server before 5.0.15 and 6.0.x before 6.0.2, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files, cause a denial of service, or possibly have other impact via an XML External Entity (XXE) attack.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

Remediation

Update to version 3.9.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 3.9: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 3.9.2 is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-2053 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/1ac39498-3171-4d91-a911-381c8ed751dc https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-2053

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 3.9

CVSS Vector

5.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityLow

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