CVE-2018-17889
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 · uneditedIn WECON Technology Co., Ltd. PI Studio HMI versions 4.1.9 and prior and PI Studio versions 4.2.34 and prior when parsing project files, the XMLParser that ships with Wecon PIStudio is vulnerable to a XML external entity injection attack, which may allow sensitive information disclosure.
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 XMLParser component in WECON PI Studio HMI (versions 4.1.9 and prior) and PI Studio (versions 4.2.34 and prior) does not disable external entity processing when parsing project files, allowing XML external entity injection (XXE). An attacker can craft malicious project files containing external entity references to exfiltrate sensitive files from the host system.
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<= 4.2.34<= 4.1.9CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/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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Locate installed WECON PI Studio softwareCheck the program's About section, installation directory, or Windows Programs and Features list for the exact version number of WECON PI Studio or WECON PI Studio HMIAffected if The software version displayed is 4.1.9 or lower for PI Studio HMI, or 4.2.34 or lower for PI Studio
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Verify the vulnerable XMLParser is in useConfirm that the software is being used to open or parse project files (.xml, .pxp, or similar project file formats used by WECON)Affected if Project files are opened, loaded, or parsed by the software
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Confirm external entity processing is not disabledExamine the application's XML parsing configuration or examine a project file for any XML DOCTYPE declarations with external entity referencesAffected if The XMLParser processes project files without disabling external entity resolution, indicated by presence of <!DOCTYPE> declarations referencing external entities in project files or no explicit disabling of external entities in parser settings
You are affected if the installed version is PI Studio HMI <= 4.1.9 or PI Studio <= 4.2.34 and the software parses project files containing XML with external entity references.
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 dataConfigure the XMLParser to disable external entity resolution, or upgrade to versions greater than 4.1.9 for PI Studio HMI and greater than 4.2.34 for PI Studio that include the XXE fix.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2018-17889 — 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-2018-17889 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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