CVE-2018-15805
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 · uneditedAccusoft PrizmDoc HTML5 Document Viewer before 13.5 contains an XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability, allowing an attacker to read arbitrary files or cause a denial of service (resource consumption).
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 confidenceAccusoft PrizmDoc HTML5 Document Viewer before version 13.5 contains an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability. The XML parser processes external entity references, allowing attackers to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem via file:// URIs or cause denial of service through recursive entity expansion (e.g., billion laughs attack). This is exploitable without authentication given the network-accessible document viewer interface.
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< 13.5CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
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 PrizmDoc installation location and versionLocate the PrizmDoc installation directory and look for version information in product files, typically found in the main application folder or registry entries. Common paths include installation under Program Files or within the web server's document root.Affected if The installed version is any release before 13.5 (e.g., 13.0, 12.x, 11.x)
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Verify if the document viewer is network-accessibleDetermine whether the PrizmDoc HTML5 viewer is exposed over the network by checking the web server configuration (IIS, Apache, or built-in server) and confirming the viewer listens on an accessible IP address or hostname.Affected if The viewer interface is reachable from network hosts without authentication
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Confirm XML document processing capabilityIdentify if the viewer accepts document uploads or processes XML-based file formats (such as XPS, OOXML, or XML configuration files) through its conversion or viewing endpoints.Affected if The viewer processes or converts XML-based documents submitted via HTTP requests
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Test for XXE vulnerability in XML parsingSubmit a crafted XML document containing an external entity reference (such as <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd">) to a PrizmDoc conversion or viewing endpoint and observe whether the parser resolves the external entity.Affected if The XML parser resolves external entity references and returns file contents or causes noticeable processing delays indicating entity expansion
You are affected if PrizmDoc version is below 13.5 and the document viewer is network-accessible and processes XML documents.
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.
dbcve · scoped13.5
Upgrade to PrizmDoc version 13.5 or later, which contains the security fix. Additionally, configure XML parsers to disable external entity and DTD processing as a defense-in-depth measure.
13.5
- Identify the current installed version of Prizmdoc by checking the application or configuration files
- Download Prizmdoc version 13.5 or later from the official Accusoft vendor channels
- Follow the vendor's standard upgrade procedure for Prizmdoc, which typically involves stopping the service, replacing the application files, and restarting the service
- Verify the upgrade was successful by confirming the installed version is 13.5 or higher
- Test the document viewing functionality to ensure the upgrade did not introduce regressions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-15805 — 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-2018-15805 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data