dbcve.org
Polarion AlmApplication · Siemens

CVE-2023-28828

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2304.0 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
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
A vulnerability has been identified in Polarion ALM (All versions < V22R2). The application contains a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability. This could allow an attacker to view files on the application server filesystem.

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 confidence

Polarion ALM versions before V22R2 contain an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability. Attackers can exploit this by submitting malicious XML input that references external entities, allowing them to read files from the application server filesystem.

MitigationUpgrade to Polarion ALM V22R2 or later to obtain the vendor patch. As a temporary mitigation, configure the XML parser to disable external entity processing.

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
Polarion AlmApplication
Affected:< 2304.0

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Identify Polarion ALM installation version
    Locate the version information through the application admin interface, installation directory, or version metadata files shipped with the product. Common locations include the About page in the web UI or version logs in the data directory.
    Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 2304.0 (including all V22Rx versions)
  2. Compare version against the vulnerability threshold
    Take the identified version number and compare it numerically against 2304.0. Any version string that evaluates to less than 2304.0 indicates the unpatched version.
    Affected if The version is below 2304.0
  3. Locate XML parser configuration
    Examine the Polarion ALM configuration files that control XML processing. Look for parser settings in the application server configuration or Polarion-specific XML handling configuration.
    Affected if External entity processing is enabled in the XML parser configuration
  4. Verify external entity settings
    Inspect the XML parser or application configuration to determine whether external entity resolution is permitted. Check for settings related to DTD processing, entity expansion, or external reference handling.
    Affected if The XML parser is configured to allow external entities or DTD processing
  5. Identify XXE attack surface
    Review which Polarion features accept XML input from users or process XML files. Determine if these endpoints parse untrusted XML without disabling external entities.
    Affected if User-supplied or external XML content is processed with an XML parser that has not disabled external entity processing

A defender is affected if their Polarion ALM version is below 2304.0 AND the XML parser configuration permits external entity processing for any XML input handled by the application.

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 2304.0 or later
Fixed in 2304.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Polarion ALM V22R2 or later to obtain the vendor patch. As a temporary mitigation, configure the XML parser to disable external entity processing.

Recommended fix High confidence

Polarion ALM 2304.0 or later (or V22R2)

  1. 1. Back up the Polarion ALM database and configuration files before upgrading.
  2. 2. Download Polarion ALM version 2304.0 or later from the official Siemens Polarion portal or support channels.
  3. 3. Stop the Polarion ALM application server services.
  4. 4. Install the upgraded version (2304.0 or newer) following the standard Polarion ALM upgrade documentation.
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the application version in the About section.
  6. 6. Restart the Polarion ALM services.
  7. 7. Test that XML import/export functionality works correctly and that the XXE vulnerability is no longer exploitable.
Caveat Review upgrade notes for potential configuration or migration considerations between major versions

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

Fix this in Polarion Alm Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,992.

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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-2023-28828 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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