CVE-2018-1920
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 · uneditedIBM Marketing Platform 9.1.0, 9.1.2 and 10.1 is vulnerable to a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 152855.
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 confidenceIBM Marketing Platform versions 9.1.0, 9.1.2, and 10.1 are vulnerable to XML External Entity Injection (XXE) when processing XML data. A remote attacker can exploit this by sending malicious XML payloads containing external entity references, potentially exposing sensitive system files or causing denial-of-service through memory exhaustion.
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= 9.1.0= 9.1.2= 10.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
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 IBM Marketing Platform versionCheck the installed version of IBM Marketing Platform. This is typically found in the product's about section, version file, or by querying the platform's system information. Common locations include the installation directory or the platform's admin console.Affected if The installed version is 9.1.0, 9.1.2, or 10.1 exactly.
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Identify XML processing componentsLocate where the IBM Marketing Platform processes XML data. This typically involves reviewing configuration files, web service endpoints, or data import features that accept XML input. Check the platform's configuration directory for XML-related handler configurations.Affected if The platform accepts or processes XML data from external sources without additional security controls.
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Check XML parser configuration for external entity settingsReview XML parser configurations within the application to determine whether external entity processing is enabled. Look for parser settings that control entity resolution, DTD processing, or external reference handling.Affected if XML parsers are configured to allow external entity resolution or DTD processing.
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Inspect XML data ingestion pointsIdentify endpoints or features where the platform accepts XML input, such as data imports, API calls, or configuration uploads. Examine whether these points validate XML strictly or allow embedded entity declarations.Affected if Incoming XML data is processed without strict validation that blocks DTD declarations and external entity references.
A user is affected if they have IBM Marketing Platform version 9.1.0, 9.1.2, or 10.1 AND the platform processes XML data with XML parsers that have external entity processing enabled.
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 dataDisable external entity processing in all XML parsers within the application, enforce strict XML schema validation, and sanitize or reject DTD declarations in incoming XML data.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2018-1920 — 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-2018-1920 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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