NifiApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-13940
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 Apache NiFi 1.0.0 to 1.11.4, the notification service manager and various policy authorizer and user group provider objects allowed trusted administrators to inadvertently configure a potentially malicious XML file. The XML file has the ability to make external calls to services (via XXE).
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 confidenceThis is an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in Apache NiFi where the notification service manager and policy authorizer/user group provider components allow trusted administrators to configure XML files capable of making external service calls through XXE. The vulnerability exists in versions 1.0.0 through 1.11.4.
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
NifiApplication
>= 1.0.0, <= 1.11.4CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Determine installed Apache NiFi versionCheck the NiFi version by reviewing the RELEASE_NOTES file in the NiFi installation directory, or by accessing the NiFi UI and viewing the About page, or running: grep -r 'NiFi Version' <nifi-home>/RELEASE_NOTESAffected if The installed version is 1.0.0 through 1.11.4 inclusive
-
Identify XML configuration files for notification service managerLocate the bootstrap-notification-services.xml file in the NiFi conf directory and review its contents for XML configuration definitionsAffected if The file contains <service> elements defining notification services with XML-based configuration and the file is loaded by NiFi
-
Identify XML configuration files for authorizerLocate the authorizer.xml file in the NiFi conf directory and review its contents for XML-based authorizer definitionsAffected if The file contains <authorizer> elements with XML configuration and the authorizer is actively loaded by NiFi
-
Identify XML configuration files for user group providerLocate userGroupProvider.xml or users.xml files in the NiFi conf directory and review their contents for XML-based user group provider definitionsAffected if The files contain XML configuration for user group providers and are actively loaded by NiFi
-
Check for external entity declarations in XML configurationsReview the XML files identified above for DOCTYPE declarations that reference external entities using <!ENTITY> syntax, or for external DTD referencesAffected if Any of the identified XML configuration files contain DOCTYPE declarations with external entity references pointing to external URIs
You are affected if NiFi version is between 1.0.0 and 1.11.4 inclusive AND any of the notification service manager, authorizer, or user group provider XML configuration files contain external entity declarations or external DTD references.
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 to Apache NiFi 1.12.0 or later which contains the fix. Additionally, restrict administrative access to configuration files and implement strict XML parsing controls to prevent XXE attacks.
Fix this in Nifi
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13940 — 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-2020-13940 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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