CVE-2014-2683
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 · uneditedZend Framework 1 (ZF1) before 1.12.4, Zend Framework 2 before 2.1.6 and 2.2.x before 2.2.6, ZendOpenId, ZendRest, ZendService_AudioScrobbler, ZendService_Nirvanix, ZendService_SlideShare, ZendService_Technorati, and ZendService_WindowsAzure before 2.0.2, ZendService_Amazon before 2.0.3, and ZendService_Api before 1.0.0 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via (1) recursive or (2) circular references in an XML entity definition in an XML DOCTYPE declaration, aka an XML Entity Expansion (XEE) attack. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2012-6532.
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 Entity Expansion (XEE) denial-of-service vulnerability in multiple Zend Framework components. Attackers exploit recursive or circular references in XML DOCTYPE declarations to cause excessive CPU consumption. The issue stems from an incomplete fix for the earlier CVE-2012-6532, indicating the XML parser was not properly configured to disable external entity processing.
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<= 2.0.1< 1.12.4>= 2.1.0, < 2.1.6>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.6<= 2.0.1<= 1.0.0<= 2.0.1<= 2.0.2<= 2.0.1<= 2.0.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
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 installed Zend componentsSearch your application codebase and dependency manifests (e.g., composer.json, vendor directory) for Zend Framework or any ZendService components listed as affected: Zendrest, Zendservice Slideshare, Zendservice Api, Zendservice Audscrobbler, Zendservice Amazon, Zendservice Technorati, Zendservice Windowsazure.Affected if Any affected Zend component is present in the application dependencies.
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Determine Zend Framework versionLocate the Zend Framework version file or check your dependency lock file for the installed version. Common locations include a Version.php file in the Zend namespace or the composer.lock file.Affected if The installed version is < 1.12.4, or >= 2.1.0 and < 2.1.6, or >= 2.2.0 and < 2.2.6.
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Determine ZendService component versionsCheck your dependency manager output or the Version.php file within each ZendService component directory for the installed version numbers.Affected if Any ZendService component version is <= 2.0.1 (for Slideshare, Api, Audioscrobbler, Technorati, Windowsazure, Zendrest) or <= 2.0.2 (for Amazon).
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Check if XML parser disables external entitiesSearch your codebase for XML parsing calls used by the affected components. Look for whether libxml_disable_entity_loader(true) is called before XML operations, or whether XML parsers are configured with XML_PAREE_NOENT or XML_DTDLOAD flags disabled.Affected if The XML parser is NOT configured to disable external entity loading (libxml_disable_entity_loader is not set to true, or entity expansion is still enabled in parser settings).
You are affected if you have any of the vulnerable Zend component versions installed AND your XML parser configuration does not explicitly disable external entity processing.
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 data1.12.42.1.62.2.6
Disable XML external entity (XXE) processing in all XML parsers used by affected Zend components by configuring libxml settings (e.g., libxml_disable_entity_loader(true)) or using secure XML parser configurations that prevent entity expansion.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-2683 — 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-2014-2683 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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