Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference, XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection) vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Ivy.This issue affects any version of Apache Ivy prior to 2.5.2. When Apache Ivy prior to 2.5.2 parses XML files - either its own configuration, Ivy files or Apache Maven POMs - it will allow downloading external document type definitions and expand any entity references contained therein when used. This can be used to exfiltrate data, access resources only the machine running Ivy has access to or disturb the execution of Ivy in different ways. Starting with Ivy 2.5.2 DTD processing is disabled by default except when parsing Maven POMs where the default is to allow DTD processing but only to include a DTD snippet shipping with Ivy that is needed to deal with existing Maven POMs that are not valid XML files but are nevertheless accepted by Maven. Access can be be made more lenient via newly introduced system properties where needed. Users of Ivy prior to version 2.5.2 can use Java system properties to restrict processing of external DTDs, see the section about "JAXP Properties for External Access restrictions" inside Oracle's "Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) Security Guide".
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.2, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), and limited availability for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from apache organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2023-08-21T07:15:33.740
2025-02-13T17:15:48.227
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 8.2 (HIGH)
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For apache's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.