CVE-2009-3960
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in BlazeDS 3.2 and earlier, as used in LiveCycle 8.0.1, 8.2.1, and 9.0, LiveCycle Data Services 2.5.1, 2.6.1, and 3.0, Flex Data Services 2.0.1, and ColdFusion 7.0.2, 8.0, 8.0.1, and 9.0, allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via vectors that are associated with a request, and related to injected tags and external entity references in XML documents.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThis is an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in BlazeDS and related Adobe products (LiveCycle, Flex Data Services, ColdFusion). The flaw allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by sending malicious XML requests containing injected tags and external entity references that cause the XML parser to disclose internal files or data.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 3.2= 7.0.2= 8.0= 8.0.1= 9.0= 2.0.1= 8.0.1= 8.2.1= 9.0= 2.5.1= 2.6.1= 3.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Adobe product and versionLocate the product's version information through the administrative interface, installer details, or product-specific configuration files. For ColdFusion, check the administrator console or version file. For BlazeDS, examine the JAR manifest or configuration. For LiveCycle, check the product's version metadata.Affected if The version falls within these ranges: BlazeDS <= 3.2; ColdFusion 7.0.2, 8.0, 8.0.1, or 9.0; Flex Data Services 2.0.1; LiveCycle 8.0.1, 8.2.1, or 9.0; LiveCycle Data Services 2.5.1, 2.6.1, or 3.0
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Determine if XML-based web services are enabledIdentify whether the product exposes XML endpoints or accepts XML-based requests. Check the configuration files for XML service endpoints (such as remoting, messaging, or HTTP service endpoints) that process incoming XML data.Affected if XML endpoints or services that parse XML requests are accessible to users or attackers on the network
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Verify if external entity processing is enabled in the XML parserExamine the XML parser configuration for the product. Check whether the parser is configured to process external entities or DTDs. Look for settings that control external entity resolution in the XML processor.Affected if The XML parser is configured to allow external entity processing, which is the default behavior in vulnerable versions
You are affected if you are running any of the listed vulnerable versions AND the product exposes XML endpoints that accept incoming requests.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedDisable XML external entity processing in the application's XML parser configuration, or upgrade to patched versions of the affected Adobe products that address this vulnerability.
BlazeDS 3.2.1+ or ColdFusion 9.0.1+/ColdFusion 10+
- 1. Identify the exact product and version currently running from the affected list (BlazeDS, ColdFusion, Flex Data Services, LiveCycle, or LiveCycle Data Services)
- 2. For BlazeDS: Upgrade to BlazeDS 3.2.1 or later which contains the security fix for this XXE vulnerability
- 3. For ColdFusion: Upgrade to ColdFusion 9.0.1 or later, or migrate to ColdFusion 10+ which includes the security patch for this issue
- 4. For LiveCycle/LiveCycle Data Services: Apply the relevant Adobe security patch or upgrade to a patched version as specified in Adobe's security bulletin (APSB09-17)
- 5. After upgrade, verify the XML parser configuration disables external entity processing as an additional hardening measure
- 6. Test that existing applications function correctly after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-3960 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-3960 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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