CVE-2013-6440
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 (1) BasicParserPool, (2) StaticBasicParserPool, (3) XML Decrypter, and (4) SAML Decrypter in Shibboleth OpenSAML-Java before 2.6.1 set the expandEntityReferences property to true, which allows remote attackers to conduct XML external entity (XXE) attacks via a crafted XML DOCTYPE declaration.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability exists in Shibboleth OpenSAML-Java versions before 2.6.1 where the BasicParserPool, StaticBasicParserPool, XML Decrypter, and SAML Decrypter components set expandEntityReferences to true, allowing XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via crafted XML DOCTYPE declarations.
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= 2.0= 2.1.0= 2.2.0<= 2.6.0= 2.4.0= 2.4.1= 2.4.2= 2.4.3= 2.5.0= 2.5.1= 2.5.2= 2.5.3CVSS 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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Identify OpenSAML-Java versionLocate the opensaml JAR file in your application lib or classpath, or check your pom.xml/build.gradle for the opensaml dependency version. Common JAR names include opensaml-*.jar or openws-*.jar.Affected if The installed version is 2.0, 2.1.0, 2.2.0, 2.4.0, 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.3, 2.5.0, 2.5.1, 2.5.2, 2.5.3, or any version 2.6.0 or lower.
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Locate BasicParserPool or StaticBasicParserPool usageSearch your Java source code, configuration files, and XML parsing setup code for references to 'BasicParserPool' or 'StaticBasicParserPool' classes from the OpenSAML library.Affected if Your application uses either BasicParserPool or StaticBasicParserPool to parse XML documents.
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Inspect parser pool configuration for expandEntityReferencesExamine the code or configuration where BasicParserPool or StaticBasicParserPool is instantiated. Look for a call to setExpandEntityReferences(true) or check if expandEntityReferences is explicitly set to true in any parser configuration.Affected if expandEntityReferences is set to true, or the parser uses default settings in a version affected by this CVE.
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Check XML Decrypter and SAML Decrypter usageSearch for usage of XMLDecrypter or SAMLDecrypter classes in your codebase. These components also utilize vulnerable parser pool settings.Affected if Your application uses XMLDecrypter or SAMLDecrypter from the affected OpenSAML versions.
You are affected if you use OpenSAML-Java versions 2.0 through 2.6.0 and your application uses BasicParserPool, StaticBasicParserPool, XMLDecrypter, or SAMLDecrypter with default or explicit expandEntityReferences=true settings.
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 OpenSAML-Java 2.6.1 or later which disables entity expansion by default, or configure XML parsers to disable external entity processing and DOCTYPE declarations.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-6440 — 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-2013-6440 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
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