CVE-2019-12996
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 Mendix 7.23.5 and earlier, issue in XML import mappings allow DOCTYPE declarations in the XML input that is potentially unsafe.
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 · moderate confidenceXML import mappings in Mendix 7.23.5 and earlier allow DOCTYPE declarations in XML input, which can enable XML External Entity (XXE) attacks where malicious XML can reference internal system resources or cause denial-of-service conditions.
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<= 7.23.5CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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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Identify the installed Mendix versionCheck the Mendix Modeler version or review the deployment metadata for the Mendix runtime version in useAffected if The version is 7.23.5 or any earlier version in the 7.x line
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Locate XML import mappings in the applicationReview the Mendix application model for any Import XML activities or XML mappings that process incoming XML documentsAffected if XML import or XML mapping activities are configured and operational in the application
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Verify if the XML importer accepts unvalidated inputInspect XML import mappings to determine whether input is sourced from external entities, user uploads, or APIs without prior validationAffected if The XML import functionality accepts input from untrusted or external sources without filtering DOCTYPE declarations
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Check for DOCTYPE handling in XML processingReview the XML parsing configuration or any custom XML handling code to see if DOCTYPE declarations are explicitly allowed or not rejectedAffected if The XML processing pipeline does not reject or strip DOCTYPE declarations before parsing
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Determine if sensitive data or internal resources are accessibleAssess whether the Mendix server has access to internal files, databases, or network resources that could be referenced via XXEAffected if The Mendix runtime has access to internal system resources that could be exploited through XML external entity references
A user is affected if they are running Mendix version 7.23.5 or earlier AND have XML import mappings that process untrusted XML input without rejecting DOCTYPE declarations.
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 dataUpgrade Mendix to a version newer than 7.23.5, or implement input validation to reject DOCTYPE declarations in XML imports before processing.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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-2019-12996 — 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-2019-12996 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