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Concrete CmsApplication · Concretecms

CVE-2022-43689

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5.10 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Concrete CMS (formerly concrete5) below 8.5.10 and between 9.0.0 and 9.1.2 is vulnerable to XXE based DNS requests leading to IP 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

Concrete CMS versions below 8.5.10 and between 9.0.0 and 9.1.2 are vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection. The vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious XML payloads that trigger DNS requests from the server, potentially revealing internal IP addresses and network topology information.

MitigationUpgrade Concrete CMS to version 8.5.10 or 9.1.2 or later. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable external entity resolution in XML parsers and validate/sanitize all XML input.

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
Concrete CmsApplication
Affected:< 8.5.10>= 9.0.0, <= 9.1.2

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
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Locate installed Concrete CMS version
    Log into the Concrete CMS admin dashboard and navigate to 'Dashboard > System & Settings > Basics > Site Information'. The version number is displayed on that page.
    Affected if The displayed version is below 8.5.10 or falls between 9.0.0 and 9.1.2 inclusive.
  2. Check version via file system
    Access the Concrete CMS installation directory on the server and locate the version file, typically named 'version.php' in the application root or concrete directory. Open the file and read the version constant.
    Affected if The version defined in version.php is below 8.5.10 or between 9.0.0 and 9.1.2.
  3. Confirm version comparison
    Compare your identified version number against the affected ranges: versions lower than 8.5.10, or versions 9.0.0 through 9.1.2.
    Affected if Your installed version matches any of these ranges.
  4. Identify XML processing vectors
    Review Concrete CMS features that accept XML input, such as XML sitemap imports, theme configuration imports, or any feed/import functionality that processes XML files.
    Affected if Any XML import feature is accessible to untrusted users and processes XML without disabling external entities.
  5. Verify XML parser configuration
    Inspect the Concrete CMS configuration files and PHP XML parser settings to confirm whether external entity resolution is enabled or disabled for XML processing.
    Affected if External entity resolution (libxml disable entity loader) is not explicitly disabled in the XML parser configuration.

You are affected if your Concrete CMS version is below 8.5.10 or between 9.0.0 and 9.1.2, AND your system processes XML input with external entity resolution enabled.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.5.10 or later
Fixed in 8.5.10
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Concrete CMS to version 8.5.10 or 9.1.2 or later. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable external entity resolution in XML parsers and validate/sanitize all XML input.

Recommended fix High confidence

Concrete CMS 8.5.10 (for 8.x) or 9.1.3+ (for 9.x)

  1. 1. Backup your database and files before starting the upgrade
  2. 2. Download Concrete CMS version 8.5.10 or later (for 8.x installations), or version 9.1.3 or later (for 9.x installations)
  3. 3. Enable maintenance mode or take the site offline
  4. 4. Upload the new files, overwriting existing installation files
  5. 5. Run the database upgrade script by accessing the site URL (the upgrade will automatically trigger if needed)
  6. 6. Clear any application caches
  7. 7. Verify the site functionality works correctly
  8. 8. Disable maintenance mode
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any configuration or feature changes between your current version and the target version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Concrete Cms Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,728.

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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-2022-43689 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data