CVE-2020-25259
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Hyland OnBase 16.0.2.83 and below, 17.0.2.109 and below, 18.0.0.37 and below, 19.8.16.1000 and below and 20.3.10.1000 and below. It uses XML deserialization libraries in an unsafe manner.
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 confidenceHyland OnBase versions 16.0.2.83 and below, 17.0.2.109 and below, 18.0.0.37 and below, 19.8.16.1000 and below, and 20.3.10.1000 and below are vulnerable to unsafe XML deserialization, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted XML payloads.
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<= 16.0.2.83>= 17.0.0.0, <= 17.0.2.109>= 18.0.0.0, <= 18.0.0.37>= 19.0.0.0, <= 19.8.16.1000>= 20.0.0.0, <= 20.3.10.1000CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 the installed OnBase versionLocate the OnBase version information. This is typically accessible through the OnBase administration console, or check version files in the OnBase installation directory. You may also find version details in the Windows Registry under the Hyland OnBase service entries, or by querying the OnBase configuration database.Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 16.0.2.83 or lower; 17.0.0.0 to 17.0.2.109; 18.0.0.0 to 18.0.0.37; 19.0.0.0 to 19.8.16.1000; or 20.0.0.0 to 20.3.10.1000. Compare your version to these bounds.
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Locate XML input interfacesIdentify web services, API endpoints, or configuration import features within the OnBase deployment that accept XML data. Review the OnBase web.config file and any published web service endpoints (typically under the /OnBase/ or /Unity/ virtual directories).Affected if Any HTTP endpoints or services that accept XML payloads are accessible and enabled, particularly those handling configuration imports or data interchange.
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Verify XML deserialization is activeConfirm that the identified XML input points actually process deserialized XML. Check the web service configuration files and look for XML-related handlers or serializers in the OnBase IIS application pool configuration.Affected if The application processes incoming XML without strict type checking or uses unsafe XML deserialization serializers (such as XmlSerializer with unknown types) in the request handling pipeline.
Your environment is affected if the installed OnBase version is within any of the vulnerable version ranges listed and any XML input endpoint or feature that deserializes XML is exposed and operational.
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 a patched version of OnBase as specified in Hyland's security advisory. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement input validation and consider web application firewall rules to block malicious XML payloads.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-25259 — 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-2020-25259 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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