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PoiApplication · Apache

CVE-2019-12415

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In Apache POI up to 4.1.0, when using the tool XSSFExportToXml to convert user-provided Microsoft Excel documents, a specially crafted document can allow an attacker to read files from the local filesystem or from internal network resources via XML External Entity (XXE) Processing.

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

Apache POI's XSSFExportToXml tool, used to convert XLSX documents to XML, processes the internal XML structure without disabling external entity resolution. A specially crafted Excel file containing malicious XXE payload in its XML content can be used to read local files or trigger requests to internal network resources when processed by this tool.

MitigationUpgrade Apache POI to version 4.1.1 or later which contains the fix. Alternatively, validate and sanitize all user-provided Excel documents before processing with XSSFExportToXml.

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
PoiApplication
Affected:<= 4.1.0
Application Testing SuiteApplication
Affected:= 12.5.0.3= 13.1.0.1= 13.2.0.1= 13.3.0.1
Banking Enterprise OriginationsApplication
Affected:= 2.7.0= 2.8.0
Banking Enterprise Product ManufacturingApplication
Affected:= 2.7.0= 2.8.0
Banking PaymentsApplication
Affected:= 14.0.0= 14.1.0
Banking PlatformApplication
Affected:= 2.4.0= 2.4.1= 2.5.0= 2.6.0= 2.6.1= 2.6.2= 2.7.0= 2.7.1= 2.9.0
Big Data DiscoveryApplication
Affected:= 1.6
Communications Diameter Signaling Router Idih\Application
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Apache POI usage
    Search your codebase, build files (pom.xml, build.gradle), or application lib directories for 'poi' or 'apache-poi' JAR files or dependencies. Also search for imports of org.apache.poi.xssf.usermodel.XSSFWorkbook
    Affected if Apache POI library is present in the environment
  2. Determine Apache POI version
    Check the poi-[version].jar filename in your libs folder, or look for the version in your Maven/Gradle dependency tree. The version may also be visible in META-INF/MANIFEST.MF inside the poi.jar
    Affected if Version is 4.1.0 or lower (including any 4.0.x, 3.x, or earlier versions)
  3. Identify XSSFExportToXml usage
    Search source code for calls to XSSFExportToXml, XSSFExportToXml.main(), or any command-line invocation of this tool. Also check for scripts that process .xlsx files and convert them to XML
    Affected if XSSFExportToXml is being used to convert XLSX documents to XML
  4. Check Oracle product versions
    If using Oracle Application Testing Suite, Oracle Banking products, Oracle Big Data Discovery, or Oracle Communications Diameter Signaling Router, identify the installed version from Oracle's version documentation or the product's about/identity screen
    Affected if Version matches any of these: Oracle ATS 12.5.0.3, 13.1.0.1, 13.2.0.1, 13.3.0.1; Oracle Banking Enterprise Originations 2.7.0 or 2.8.0; Oracle Banking Enterprise Product Manufacturing 2.7.0 or 2.8.0; Oracle Banking Payments 14.0.0 or 14.1.0; Oracle Banking Platform any of 2.4.0 through 2.9.0; Oracle

Your environment is affected if you use Apache POI version 4.1.0 or lower with the XSSFExportToXml tool, or any of the listed Oracle product versions, and you process untrusted Excel files through the XLSX-to-XML conversion feature.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.1.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache POI to version 4.1.1 or later which contains the fix. Alternatively, validate and sanitize all user-provided Excel documents before processing with XSSFExportToXml.

Fix this in Poi Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2019-12415 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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