CVE-2012-4709
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 · uneditedInvensys Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 and earlier allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files, send HTTP requests to intranet servers, or cause a denial of service (CPU and memory consumption) via an XML document containing an external entity declaration in conjunction with an entity reference, related to an XML External Entity (XXE) issue.
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 confidenceInvensys Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 and earlier contains an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability. Attackers can craft malicious XML documents with external entity declarations to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem, perform SSRF attacks by making HTTP requests to intranet servers, or cause denial of service through excessive CPU and memory consumption.
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<= 2012CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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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Check the installed Wonderware InTouch HMI versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, find Wonderware InTouch or check the program properties via right-click > Properties > Details tab. Alternatively, look for version information in the HMI's About or Help menu within the application.Affected if The installed version is 2012, 2012 R2, or any earlier version (versions prior to the post-2012 R2 patch).
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Identify XML processing functionalityReview the HMI's configuration files and project settings to determine if the system is configured to import, export, or process XML-based documents, configurations, or data exchange files.Affected if XML document processing is enabled or configured in the HMI environment.
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Locate XML parser configurationInspect the Wonderware InTouch installation directory and project directories for XML parser settings, configuration files, or registry entries related to XML handling. Check for any .config or XML-related settings files.Affected if An XML parser is in use and external entity processing has not been explicitly disabled in the parser configuration.
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Verify if external XML entities can be processedExamine the XML parser or application configuration to determine whether external entity processing is permitted. This may be found in parser settings, documentation, or by reviewing how the HMI handles XML input.Affected if External entity processing is allowed (default state), which would allow crafted XML with external entity declarations to be processed.
A user is affected if they are running Wonderware InTouch HMI version 2012 or earlier AND the system processes XML documents with external entity support enabled in the parser configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a patched version of Wonderware InTouch HMI beyond 2012 R2, or disable XML external entity processing in the XML parser configuration if upgrading is not immediately feasible.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4709 — 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-2012-4709 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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