CVE-2013-0686
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 Information Server (WIS) 4.0 SP1SP1, 4.5- Portal, and 5.0- Portal 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 Information Server versions 4.0 SP1, 4.5-Portal, and 5.0-Portal contain an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability. Attackers can craft malicious XML documents containing external entity declarations to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem, make HTTP requests to internal intranet servers (Server-Side Request Forgery), 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= 4.0= 4.5= 5.0CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/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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Identify Wonderware Information Server installationCheck for the installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\Wonderware Information Server or review installed programs via Windows Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wonderware\InfoServerAffected if The software is installed on the system
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Determine installed versionOpen the Wonderware Information Server about or version information panel within the application, or check the version listed in Windows Add/Remove Programs, or inspect version files in the installation directoryAffected if The version is 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0 (including SP1 and Portal variants)
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Confirm XML processing capability is in useReview server configuration files for XML import/upload functionality, check IIS or web server logs for XML-related requests, or identify if the portal accepts XML-based data submissionsAffected if XML upload, import, or processing features are enabled or accessible on the server
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Check XML parser configuration for external entity settingsExamine the XML parser configuration files within the Wonderware Information Server installation, typically in config or settings directories, forallowExternalDTD or similar settings that enable external entity processingAffected if External entity processing is not explicitly disabled in the XML parser configuration
The system is affected if Wonderware Information Server versions 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0 are installed and XML upload or processing functionality is accessible, since the XXE vulnerability exists in how the server handles XML documents with external entity declarations.
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 dataDisable external entity processing in the XML parser configuration, implement strict input validation for XML uploads, and consider upgrading to a patched version if available. Restrict network access to internal resources as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-0686 — 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-2013-0686 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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