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CVE-2024-22354

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5.5.26 / 9.0.5.20 or later.
See remediation →
79/100
Remediation priority · High
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
IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5, 9.0 and IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.5 are vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information, consume memory resources, or to conduct a server-side request forgery attack. IBM X-Force ID: 280401.

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

IBM WebSphere Application Server (traditional and Liberty) versions 8.5, 9.0, and Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.5 are vulnerable to XML External Entity Injection (XXE). When processing untrusted XML data, the server's XML parser allows expansion of external entity references, enabling attackers to read local files, exhaust memory through recursive entity expansion, or make the server perform requests to internal resources (SSRF).

MitigationApply IBM's security patches for this vulnerability. As an interim control, configure the XML parser to disable external entity processing and enforce strict XML schema validation for all incoming XML data.

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
Websphere Application ServerApplication
Affected:>= 8.5.0.0, < 8.5.5.26>= 9.0.0.0, < 9.0.5.20>= 17.0.0.3, < 24.0.0.6

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
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L

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 WebSphere version
    For traditional: check the About WebSphere Application Server panel in the admin console, or run 'java -version' from the installation bin directory. For Liberty: check the version in the server.xml file or run the 'version' command from the Liberty bin directory.
    Affected if Version is 8.5.0.0 through 8.5.5.25, 9.0.0.0 through 9.0.5.19, or 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.5 (fixed in 8.5.5.26, 9.0.5.20, and 24.0.0.6 respectively)
  2. Confirm WebSphere edition and type
    Determine if you are running traditional WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Liberty. This affects which version range applies.
    Affected if Running any edition of WebSphere 8.5, 9.0 traditional, or Liberty 17.0.0.3+ within the affected version ranges
  3. Locate XML processing points
    Review your deployed applications for code that parses XML input, including SOAP web services, XML-based REST APIs, file uploads accepting XML, or any endpoint that accepts untrusted XML data.
    Affected if Applications accept and parse untrusted XML data from external sources
  4. Check XML parser configuration
    Examine your application code or server configuration for XML parser settings. Look for DocumentBuilderFactory, SAXParserFactory, or similar XML parser instantiation code and check if external entity processing is explicitly disabled.
    Affected if XML parser is configured without disabling external entities (DOCTYPE, external general/parameter entities)
  5. Review server-level XML configurations
    For Liberty, check server.xml and any included configuration files for xmlFeature settings. For traditional, check the XML parser settings in the admin console under Servers > Server Types > WebSphere Application Server > [server] > Container Settings > Container Services > XML Parser.
    Affected if Server-wide XML parser settings allow external entity processing

You are affected if your WebSphere version falls within 8.5.0.0-8.5.5.25, 9.0.0.0-9.0.5.19, or 17.0.0.3-24.0.0.5 and your applications process untrusted XML data without XXE protections.

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 8.5.5.26 / 9.0.5.20 / 24.0.0.6 or later
Fixed in 8.5.5.269.0.5.2024.0.0.6
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM's security patches for this vulnerability. As an interim control, configure the XML parser to disable external entity processing and enforce strict XML schema validation for all incoming XML data.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5.5.26, 9.0.5.20, or 24.0.0.6 (or later) depending on the product line in use

  1. 1. Back up the current IBM WebSphere Application Server configuration and all deployed applications
  2. 2. Identify the current version of WebSphere Application Server installed (8.5.x, 9.0.x, or Liberty 17.0.0.3 - 24.0.0.5)
  3. 3. For WebSphere Application Server traditional: Download the fix from IBM Fix Central using the appropriate version target (8.5.5.26, 9.0.5.20, or later)
  4. 4. For WebSphere Liberty: Obtain the latest fix pack from IBM (24.0.0.6 or later) via IBM Installation Manager or the Liberty repository
  5. 5. Apply the fix using IBM's recommended update process: stop the server, run the update installer (e.g., IBM Installation Manager or Update Installer for WebSphere), and follow the installation wizard
  6. 6. After applying the fix, restart the WebSphere Application Server
  7. 7. Verify the version has been updated by checking the installation directory or server logs
  8. 8. Test all applications that process XML data to ensure functionality is intact
Caveat Patches are generally backward compatible but test in non-production environment first to verify application functionality after upgrade

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

Fix this in Websphere Application Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-22354 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