CVE-2023-51604
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 · uneditedHoneywell Saia PG5 Controls Suite XML External Entity Processing Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of Honeywell Saia PG5 Controls Suite. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of XML files. 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 current process. . Was ZDI-CAN-18593.
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 confidenceThis is an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in Honeywell Saia PG5 Controls Suite's XML parser. The parser fails to properly restrict external entity references, allowing a crafted XML file with malicious URI references (such as file:// URLs) to cause the parser to read local files and embed their contents back into the XML document for processing. This enables attackers to disclose sensitive information from the affected system in the context of the current process.
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 dataall versions= 2.3.193CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Saia PG5 Controls Suite installationSearch for Saia PG5 Controls Suite in program directories or check for related executables and libraries (typically installed under C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\ with Saia or PG5 in the path)Affected if The product is present on the system
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Identify installed versionCheck the version of the installed Saia PG5 Controls Suite by right-clicking the executable, viewing properties, or checking the About/Help section within the applicationAffected if The installed version is 2.3.193 or any earlier version, since all versions up to and including 2.3.193 are affected
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Determine if application parses XML filesReview project files, configuration files, or runtime behavior to identify if the application processes XML input from users, imported files, or external sourcesAffected if The application parses XML files as part of its normal operation
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Check XML parser configurationExamine XML parser settings or configuration files within the Saia PG5 installation to verify whether external entity processing and DTD processing are enabled (XXE vulnerability exists when these are not explicitly disabled)Affected if External entity processing and DTD processing are not explicitly disabled in the XML parser configuration, meaning the parser will process malicious external entity references
A system is affected if Saia PG5 Controls Suite is installed with version 2.3.193 or earlier and the XML parser processes untrusted XML files with external entity processing enabled.
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.
From vendor dataDisable external entity processing and DTD processing in the XML parser configuration, or implement secure XML parsing that ignores external entities; validate and sanitize XML input to reject documents with external entity declarations; apply vendor patches when available.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-51604 — 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-2023-51604 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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- 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