CVE-2019-13965
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 · uneditedBecause of a lack of sanitization around error messages, multiple Reflective XSS issues exist in iTop through 2.6.0 via the param_file parameter to webservices/export.php, webservices/cron.php, or env-production/itop-backup/backup.php. By default, any XSS sent to the administrator can be transformed to remote command execution because of CVE-2018-10642 (still working through 2.6.0) The Reflective XSS can also become a stored XSS within the same account because of another vulnerability.
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 confidenceReflective XSS vulnerability in iTop through v2.6.0 where the param_file parameter in webservices/export.php, webservices/cron.php, and env-production/itop-backup/backup.php lacks proper sanitization of error messages. This allows injection of malicious scripts via unsanitized user input reflected back in error responses.
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<= 2.6.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Check iTop versionLocate the version file (typically version.php or similar in the iTop root directory) or access the iTop admin interface System Information page to determine the installed version.Affected if Installed version is 2.6.0 or lower (any version up to and including 2.6.0)
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Verify affected files existCheck for the presence of webservices/export.php, webservices/cron.php, and env-production/itop-backup/backup.php in the iTop web root directory.Affected if Any of these three PHP files exist in the installation
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Confirm webservices are accessibleAttempt to access the webservices endpoints (e.g., /webservices/export.php, /webservices/cron.php) via HTTP to verify they respond.Affected if The webservices endpoints are reachable and respond to requests
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Identify param_file parameter usageReview the source code of the three affected files to locate where the param_file parameter is processed and reflected in error messages without sanitization.Affected if The param_file parameter is used and error messages containing this parameter value are returned to the user without output encoding
User is affected if iTop version is 2.6.0 or lower AND the webservices endpoints (export.php, cron.php) or backup.php are accessible, as the param_file parameter in these files reflects unsanitized user input in error responses.
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 dataImplement input validation and output encoding on the param_file parameter across all three affected files; consider upgrading to a patched version beyond 2.6.0 to address the chained RCE vulnerability (CVE-2018-10642).
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-13965 — 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-2019-13965 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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