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IgnitionApplication · Inductiveautomation

CVE-2023-39472

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1.32 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Inductive Automation Ignition SimpleXMLReader XML External Entity Processing Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of Inductive Automation Ignition. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the SimpleXMLReader class. Due to the improper restriction of XML External Entity (XXE) references, a crafted document specifying a URI causes the XML parser to access the URI and embed the contents back into the XML document for further processing. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to disclose information in the context of the SYSTEM. . Was ZDI-CAN-17571.

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

This is an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in Inductive Automation Ignition's SimpleXMLReader class. The XML parser does not properly restrict external entity references, allowing an authenticated attacker to craft malicious XML documents that reference external URIs (such as file:// paths or internal network resources) and embed the contents back into the XML document for processing, leading to disclosure of sensitive information from the system.

MitigationDisable external entity processing in the XML parser by configuring it to deny DTDs and external entity declarations, or upgrade to a version where the SimpleXMLReader class properly restricts XXE references.

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
IgnitionApplication
Affected:>= 8.1.0, < 8.1.32

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Verify Ignition installation and locate version
    Check the installation directory for a version file or launch the Ignition Gateway and view the status page to identify the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version is 8.1.0 through 8.1.31 inclusive (versions below 8.1.32)
  2. Identify SimpleXMLReader usage
    Search project files, scripts, and custom modules for imports or references to the SimpleXMLReader class, typically found in Java-based Ignition projects under com.inductiveautomation.xmleditor or similar packages
    Affected if SimpleXMLReader is actively used in any Gateway scope script, Vision window, or custom module within the environment
  3. Confirm XML parsing is enabled
    Review any scripts or configurations that invoke SimpleXMLReader to parse XML input, looking for code paths where user-supplied or external XML is processed
    Affected if SimpleXMLReader parses XML documents from untrusted sources or allows XML file uploads within the system
  4. Check XML parser configuration
    Examine the Ignition configuration files (gateway.xml, ignition.conf) and any custom XML handler implementations to determine if external entity processing has been restricted
    Affected if The XML parser is configured to allow DTDs or external entity declarations, or no explicit XXE protection is configured

The environment is affected if running Ignition version 8.1.0 to 8.1.31 and the SimpleXMLReader class parses XML from any source without XXE protection configured.

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 8.1.32 or later
Fixed in 8.1.32
Interim mitigation

Disable external entity processing in the XML parser by configuring it to deny DTDs and external entity declarations, or upgrade to a version where the SimpleXMLReader class properly restricts XXE references.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ignition 8.1.32 or later

  1. Back up the current Ignition installation, gateway backup, and all critical configuration data before proceeding
  2. Stop the Ignition gateway service
  3. Download Ignition version 8.1.32 or later from the official Inductive Automation website (inductiveautomation.com)
  4. Install the updated Ignition version following the standard upgrade procedure
  5. Start the Ignition gateway service
  6. Verify the SimpleXMLReader class has been updated and the XXE vulnerability is mitigated by testing with a benign XML document containing an external entity reference
  7. Confirm all critical workflows function normally after the upgrade

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

Fix this in Ignition Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-39472 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