Experience ManagerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-8086

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.5, 6.4, 6.3 and 6.2 have a xml external entity injection vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to sensitive information disclosure.

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

Adobe Experience Manager versions 6.2 through 6.5 contain an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability. This occurs when the AEM XML parser processes malicious XML input containing external entity references, allowing attackers to read internal files, perform SSRF attacks, or cause denial of service. The CVSS 7.5 score indicates high exploitability with network-based attacks and significant impact on confidentiality.

MitigationUpgrade AEM to the vendor-provided patched version or apply the relevant security hotfix. Additionally, configure XML parsers to disable external entity processing as a defense-in-depth measure.

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
Experience ManagerApplication
Affected:= 6.2= 6.3= 6.4= 6.5

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 AEM version
    Access the AEM Welcome page and locate the version information, or query the AEM system information endpoint (e.g., /system/console/status-productinfo or /crx/packmgr/service.jsp?cmd=ls), or check the manifest file in the AEM installation directory
    Affected if The installed version is 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, or 6.5 exactly
  2. Locate XML ingestion points
    Review AEM workflows, custom components, or integrations that accept XML input submissions. Check the /etc/replication or /var/import directories, and search for custom servlets or endpoints that process XML using javax.xml.parsers or org.xml.sax packages
    Affected if XML processing functionality exists and is accessible to network attackers
  3. Identify exposed XML endpoints
    Review dispatcher configurations and published endpoints for any web services, API endpoints, or import handlers that accept XML payloads. Check AEM exposed REST services under /bin or /services paths
    Affected if Any publicly accessible endpoint accepts and parses XML content
  4. Check XML parser configuration
    Inspect the AEM startup scripts, sling.properties, or custom OSGi configurations for XML parser settings. Look for javax.xml.parsers settings and whether external entity processing has been explicitly disabled
    Affected if The XML parser is configured to allow external entity processing (default vulnerable state)
  5. Review recent XML-based imports
    Check AEM audit logs (audit.log) and request logs for XML upload or import patterns, and examine any third-party integrations that feed XML to AEM
    Affected if XML imports are actively being used in the environment

You are affected if your AEM version is exactly 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, or 6.5 AND you have XML processing endpoints accessible to untrusted input sources.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade AEM to the vendor-provided patched version or apply the relevant security hotfix. Additionally, configure XML parsers to disable external entity processing as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in Experience Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2019-8086 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
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