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Manageengine Adselfservice PlusApplication · Zohocorp

CVE-2018-20664

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-01-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus 5.x before build 5701 has XXE via an uploaded product license.

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 confidence

Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus versions 5.x before build 5701 contains an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in the product license upload functionality. Attackers can upload a maliciously crafted XML license file containing XXE payloads to potentially read sensitive system files, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), or achieve remote code execution on the underlying system.

MitigationUpgrade ADSelfService Plus to build 5701 or later. Until patching is possible, disable or restrict the license upload feature and implement strict XML input validation with disabled external entity processing on the server.

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
Manageengine Adselfservice PlusApplication
Affected:= 5.7

CVSS 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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify ADSelfService Plus installation
    Locate the ADSelfService Plus installation directory and confirm the product is installed. Common locations include C:\ManageEngine\ADSelfService Plus or /opt/ManageEngine/ADSelfService Plus on Linux.
    Affected if ADSelfService Plus is installed on the system
  2. Check installed build version
    Locate the build version information, typically found in a version.txt file, about.html, or in the product's administration console under the 'About' or 'License' section. Compare the build number against the vulnerable range (versions before build 5701).
    Affected if Build version is 5.x before 5701, or specifically build 5700 or lower
  3. Verify license upload feature accessibility
    Access the product's web interface and navigate to the license management or upload section. This is typically found under Administration > License or Settings > Product License. Confirm the endpoint is accessible without authentication or with low-privilege access.
    Affected if License upload functionality is exposed and accessible to users
  4. Check XML processing configuration
    Inspect the application server configuration (typically Tomcat) for XML parser settings. Look for configuration files that control XML external entity processing. On Windows, check the wrapper.conf or similar configuration files in the installation directory.
    Affected if XML parser is configured to allow external entity processing (DTD processing not disabled)
  5. Review recent license file uploads
    Examine server logs and the uploads directory for any recently uploaded XML license files. Check application logs in the 'logs' directory for XXE-related error messages or suspicious license upload requests.
    Affected if Suspicious XML files found in upload directories or logs contain XXE-related errors

The environment is affected if ADSelfService Plus build version is 5700 or lower and the license upload feature is accessible without proper XML validation disabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade ADSelfService Plus to build 5701 or later. Until patching is possible, disable or restrict the license upload feature and implement strict XML input validation with disabled external entity processing on the server.

Recommended fix High confidence

ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus build 5701 or later

  1. 1. Backup your current ADSelfService Plus installation and database before proceeding
  2. 2. Download ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus build 5701 or later from the official ManageEngine download portal
  3. 3. Stop the ADSelfService Plus service
  4. 4. Apply the upgrade following the official upgrade documentation
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the build number in the admin console
  6. 6. Test that the license upload functionality works correctly after the upgrade
  7. 7. Verify the XXE vulnerability is remediated by attempting to upload a malicious XML file
Caveat Review official release notes for any configuration or feature changes between your current build and 5701

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Manageengine Adselfservice Plus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-20664 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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