CVE-2019-4424
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 Business Automation Workflow 18.0.0.0, 18.0.0.1, 18.0.0.2, 19.0.0.1, and 19.0.0.2 is vulnerable to an 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: 162770.
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 Business Automation Workflow versions 18.0.0.0 through 19.0.0.2 are vulnerable to XML External Entity Injection (XXE) when processing untrusted XML data. A remote attacker can send malicious XML requests containing external entity references to expose sensitive files from the server filesystem or cause 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>= 18.0.0.0, <= 19.0.0.2>= 7.5.0.0, <= 7.5.1.2>= 8.0.0.0, <= 8.0.1.3>= 8.5.0.0, <= 8.5.0.2= 8.5.5.0= 8.5.6.0= 8.5.7.0= 8.6.0.0CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Identify the installed product and versionCheck the version of IBM Business Automation Workflow or IBM Business Process Manager installed in your environment. This is typically found in the product's About section, installation directory, or version manifest file.Affected if The installed version falls within 18.0.0.0-19.0.0.2 for Business Automation Workflow, or 7.5.0.0-7.5.1.2, 8.0.0.0-8.0.1.3, 8.5.0.0-8.5.0.2, 8.5.5.0, 8.5.6.0, 8.5.7.0, or 8.6.0.0 for Business Process Manager.
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Determine if the system processes untrusted XML inputIdentify any endpoints, services, or integrations that accept XML input from external or untrusted sources. Review configuration files and service definitions that handle XML data ingestion.Affected if The system accepts or processes XML from untrusted external sources without prior validation.
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Inspect XML parser configuration for external entity processingLocate the XML parser configuration files used by the product. Check for settings related to external entity resolution, DTD processing, or XXE protection. Common configuration locations include the BPM/BAW XML parser settings, web service configurations, or integration node settings.Affected if External entity processing is enabled or XXE protections are not configured in the XML parser settings.
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Review XML input validation mechanismsExamine whether there is input validation or schema validation in place for XML data before processing. Check for XML schema (XSD) validation or input sanitization in the XML handling code or configuration.Affected if No strict XML schema validation or input sanitization is applied to incoming XML requests.
You are affected if your installed IBM Business Automation Workflow or Business Process Manager version is within the affected ranges AND the system processes untrusted XML input with 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 dataApply IBM's available patch for this vulnerability. As an interim measure, disable external entity processing in XML parsers and validate XML input against a strict schema before processing.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-4424 — 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-2019-4424 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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