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Pega PlatformApplication · Pega

CVE-2023-50168

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.8.5 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Pega Platform from 6.x to 8.8.4 is affected by an XXE issue with PDF Generation.

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

Pega Platform versions 6.x through 8.8.4 contain an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in the PDF generation functionality. The vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious XML content that can be processed by the PDF generator, potentially enabling disclosure of internal files, SSRF attacks, or denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade Pega Platform to version 8.8.5 or later which contains the security patch for this issue. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, disable or restrict external entity processing in XML parsers used by PDF generation components.

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
Pega PlatformApplication
Affected:< 8.8.5

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 Pega Platform version
    Locate the Pega Platform version information in the system admin console, about screen, or version.properties file typically found in the Pega installation directory
    Affected if Installed version is 6.x or any version through 8.8.4 (versions below 8.8.5)
  2. Verify PDF generation is enabled
    Check if the PDF generation feature is active by examining the Pega administrative interface for Report Viewer, Export to PDF activities, or PDF-related rules in the application
    Affected if PDF generation functionality is in use or enabled in the environment
  3. Check XML parser configuration for PDF generation
    Inspect XML parser settings in the Pega configuration files (prconfig.xml or pega.xml) and look for XML parser definitions used by the PDF generator component
    Affected if XML parsers allow external entity processing or have XXE protections disabled
  4. Review PDF generation rule configuration
    Examine Pega rules related to PDF generation such as pxCreatePDF, HTMLToPDF, or similar activities in the Pega RuleBase to identify if custom XML processing is configured
    Affected if Custom XML configurations exist in PDF generation rules without proper XXE safeguards

Environment is affected if Pega Platform version is below 8.8.5 AND PDF generation functionality is enabled or in use, with XML parsers permitting external entity processing.

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 8.8.5 or later
Fixed in 8.8.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Pega Platform to version 8.8.5 or later which contains the security patch for this issue. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, disable or restrict external entity processing in XML parsers used by PDF generation components.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pega Platform 8.8.5 (or latest stable release)

  1. 1. Identify the current Pega Platform version by checking the system via the Designer Studio or admin console
  2. 2. Confirm the version is below 8.8.5 (vulnerable range: 6.x through 8.8.4)
  3. 3. Review the Pega Platform Upgrade Guide available on support.pega.com for upgrading to version 8.8.5 or later
  4. 4. Create a backup of the current Pega Platform system and database
  5. 5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to validate compatibility
  6. 6. Schedule a maintenance window for the production upgrade
  7. 7. Perform the upgrade to Pega Platform 8.8.5 or the latest stable release
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify the XXE vulnerability is remediated by confirming the build version shows 8.8.5 or higher
Caveat Review Pega upgrade guide for any deprecated features or configuration changes between your current version and 8.8.5; custom PDF generation rules may need testing

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

Fix this in Pega Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2023-50168 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