CVE-2013-4069
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 · uneditedThe Portal application in IBM SPSS Collaboration and Deployment Services 4.2.1 before 4.2.1.3 IF3 and 5.0 before FP3 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via an XML 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 confidenceThis is an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in the Portal application of IBM SPSS Collaboration and Deployment Services. Remote attackers can read arbitrary server files by submitting malicious XML containing external entity declarations that reference local file paths.
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= 4.2.1= 4.2.1.1= 4.2.1.2= 4.2.1.3= 5.0.0= 5.0.0.1= 5.0.0.2CVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/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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Confirm SPSS Collaboration and Deployment Services installationLocate the installation directory or check system services for IBM SPSS Collaboration and Deployment Services. Common paths include /opt/IBM/SPSS or C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS. Check for the presence of the deployment services engine and portal components.Affected if The software is installed and the Portal component is present
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Identify installed versionCheck the version of IBM SPSS Collaboration and Deployment Services. This is typically found in a version file within the installation directory, or accessible through the product's About dialog or administrative console.Affected if The installed version matches exactly 4.2.1, 4.2.1.1, 4.2.1.2, 4.2.1.3, 5.0.0, 5.0.0.1, or 5.0.0.2
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Verify Portal application is accessibleConfirm the Portal application component is deployed and accessible. The XXE vulnerability exists specifically in the Portal application, so verify the Portal web application is running.Affected if The Portal application is deployed and accessible via web interface or API
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Check XML parser configurationInspect the XML parser configuration files used by the Portal application. Look for settings related to external entity processing, DTD processing, or XML configuration in the application server configuration.Affected if XML external entity processing is enabled in the parser configuration
A system is affected if IBM SPSS Collaboration and Deployment Services version 4.2.1.x or 5.0.0.x is installed with the Portal component accessible and XML external entity processing is 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 dataApply the vendor patches (4.2.1.3 IF3 for v4.2.1 or FP3 for v5.0) or disable XML external entity processing in the application's XML parser configuration.
- Consultation3.0 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-2013-4069 — 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-2013-4069 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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