CVE-2022-38389
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 · uneditedIBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler 9.4, 9.5, and 10.1 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 233975.
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 confidenceIBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler versions 9.4, 9.5, and 10.1 contains an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability where the application parses XML input without properly disabling external entity processing. A remote attacker can exploit this by submitting malicious XML payloads to read sensitive local files or trigger resource exhaustion via recursive entity expansion (e.g., billion laughs attack), leading to information disclosure or denial of service.
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= 9.4= 9.5= 10.1CVSS 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:3.1/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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Check installed IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler versionLocate the installation directory and run version command or check version file: typically found in the product's bin or conf directory, or via the twsinstcp -version command if availableAffected if The installed version equals 9.4, 9.5, or 10.1 exactly as listed in the affected versions
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Identify XML input acceptance pointsReview application configuration files and exposed web services/endpoints that accept XML input, check for SOAP or XML-based API endpointsAffected if The application accepts XML input through any publicly accessible endpoint without restriction
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Inspect XML parser configuration for external entity settingsExamine the XML parser configuration files or Java startup parameters for settings related to external entity processing - look for whether XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD and XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA are set to empty strings or properly restrictedAffected if External entity processing and DTD processing are not explicitly disabled in the XML parser configuration, or the security features are not set to restrict external access
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Verify if XML processing is enabled on production endpointsTest XML endpoints by sending a benign XML request and confirming it is processed, note which specific endpoints handle XML dataAffected if XML processing is active on any production-accessible endpoint without documented security controls
A user is affected if their installed IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler version is exactly 9.4, 9.5, or 10.1 AND the application exposes any XML input endpoint where external entity processing has not been explicitly disabled 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 and DTD processing in all XML parsers used by the application, implement strict input validation for XML endpoints, and apply vendor patches when available. Use secure XML parser configurations with features like XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD and XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA set to empty strings.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38389 — 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-2022-38389 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
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