Py XmlApplication · Py Xml Project
CVE-2020-26709
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 · uneditedpy-xml v1.0 was discovered to contain an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted XML file.
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 confidencepy-xml v1.0 contains an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying a crafted XML file. This occurs because the XML parser processes external entities without proper restrictions, enabling attacker-controlled XML to access local resources or execute commands.
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
Py XmlApplication
= 1.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 py-xml is installedRun 'pip show py-xml' or 'pip list | grep -i py-xml' to check if the package is present in your Python environmentAffected if py-xml version 1.0 is installed and listed in the output
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Verify the installed versionCheck the version output from the pip command above - look for 'Version: 1.0' in the outputAffected if The installed version is exactly 1.0
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Locate code using XML parsing from this librarySearch your codebase for imports of 'from pyxml import xmlproc' or similar py-xml modules, and grep for 'import xml' patterns in files that process user-supplied XMLAffected if Your application imports or uses py-xml's XML parser to process untrusted XML files
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Check if external entity processing is enabledReview the XML parsing code for absence of resolver restrictions - look for parser configurations that do NOT set 'resolver=False' or use defusedxml, and verify whether DTD parsing is allowedAffected if The XML parser is configured to process external entities and DTDs without disabling them (e.g., no resolver=False, no disabling of external entities)
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Test for XXE vulnerability in your XML processingIf you have access to test/development environment, create a test XML file with an external entity reference (e.g., <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd">) and process it with your XML parser to see if the external resource is resolvedAffected if The parser resolves and expands external entities from the crafted XML file, exposing the vulnerability
You are affected if py-xml version 1.0 is installed AND your application uses this library to parse untrusted XML 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 dataDisable external entity processing and DTD parsing in the XML parser configuration, implement strict input validation for XML files, and consider upgrading to a patched version if available. For Python xml parsers, this typically involves setting resolver=False or using defusedxml.
Fix this in Py Xml
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-26709 — 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-2020-26709 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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