CVE-2023-38490
MEDIUMEPSS 75th pctlDescription
Kirby is a content management system. A vulnerability in versions prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6 only affects Kirby sites that use the `Xml` data handler (e.g. `Data::decode($string, 'xml')`) or the `Xml::parse()` method in site or plugin code. The Kirby core does not use any of the affected methods. XML External Entities (XXE) is a little used feature in the XML markup language that allows to include data from external files in an XML structure. If the name of the external file can be controlled by an attacker, this becomes a vulnerability that can be abused for various system impacts like the disclosure of internal or confidential data that is stored on the server (arbitrary file disclosure) or to perform network requests on behalf of the server (server-side request forgery, SSRF). Kirby's `Xml::parse()` method used PHP's `LIBXML_NOENT` constant, which enabled the processing of XML external entities during the parsing operation. The `Xml::parse()` method is used in the `Xml` data handler (e.g. `Data::decode($string, 'xml')`). Both the vulnerable method and the data handler are not used in the Kirby core. However they may be used in site or plugin code, e.g. to parse RSS feeds or other XML files. If those files are of an external origin (e.g. uploaded by a user or retrieved from an external URL), attackers may be able to include an external entity in the XML file that will then be processed in the parsing process. Kirby sites that don't use XML parsing in site or plugin code are *not* affected. The problem has been patched in Kirby 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6. In all of the mentioned releases, the maintainers have removed the `LIBXML_NOENT` constant as processing of external entities is out of scope of the parsing logic. This protects all uses of the method against the described vulnerability.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Exploit Intelligence
Elevated risk: more likely to be exploited than 75% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-611 (XML External Entity (XXE)) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-34102 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2019-9670 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2022-28219 | Critical | 9.8 | 97% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-22024 | High | 8.3 | 95% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-38653 | High | 7.5 | 92% | - | - |
| CVE-2017-12629 | Critical | 9.8 | 92% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2023-38490?
Upgrade kirby to 3.9.6 or later.
Is CVE-2023-38490 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2023-38490 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 1.7% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 75% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2023-38490?
CVE-2023-38490 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.8, rated medium. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2023-38490 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for kirby (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.