CVE-2019-5918
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 · uneditedNablarch 5 (5, and 5u1 to 5u13) allows remote attackers to conduct XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceNablarch 5 versions 5 through 5u13 contain a critical XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability. This allows remote attackers to exploit the XML parser by injecting malicious external entity references, potentially enabling file disclosure, server-side request forgery (SSRF), or denial of service attacks.
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= 5= 5u1= 5u13CVSS 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
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Nablarch is in useSearch for Nablarch JAR files in your application lib directory, or check your build configuration (pom.xml, build.gradle) for Nablarch dependencies.Affected if Nablarch libraries or dependencies are found in your application
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Determine the installed Nablarch versionCheck the version of the Nablarch JAR file in your lib folder, or look at the version specified in your build configuration (the version attribute in your pom.xml dependency or compile dependency in build.gradle).Affected if The version is 5, 5u1, 5u2, 5u3, 5u4, 5u5, 5u6, 5u7, 5u8, 5u9, 5u10, 5u11, 5u12, or 5u13
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Verify XML parsing is being usedSearch your codebase for usage of XML parsing APIs such as DocumentBuilder, SAXParser, TransformerFactory, or JAXB unmarshalling. Also check for XML-based configuration files or data import functionality that processes XML.Affected if Your application parses or processes XML files using Java XML APIs
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Check XML parser configuration for external entity settingsInspect your XML parser initialization code or configuration. Look for DocumentBuilderFactory, SAXParserFactory, or similar parser factory setups. Verify whether the following are configured: setFeature(XMLConstants.FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING, true) is called, and setAttribute(EXTERNAL_GENERAL_ENTITIES, false) and setAttribute(EXTERNAL_PARAMETER_ENTITIES, false) are set on the factory.Affected if External entity processing is not explicitly disabled in your XML parser configuration (factory settings do not include disabling external entities)
You are affected if Nablarch versions 5 through 5u13 are in use AND your application parses XML with external entity processing enabled in the parser configuration.
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 dataDisable external entity processing in all XML parsers within the application or upgrade Nablarch to a patched version (5u14 or later) that addresses the XXE vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-5918 — 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-2019-5918 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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