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CVE-2024-45086

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5.5.27 / 9.0.5.22 or later.
See remediation →
61/100
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
IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 and 9.0 is vulnerable to an XML external entity injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A privileged user could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources.

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 8.5 and 9.0 contains an XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability when processing XML data. A privileged attacker could exploit this to read local files or cause denial-of-service through memory exhaustion via malicious XML payloads with external entity references.

MitigationApply the IBM-provided security patch for this vulnerability and disable external entity processing in XML parsers used by WebSphere applications. Review and sanitize XML input processing to prevent XXE attacks.

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, < 8.5.5.27>= 9.0.0.0, < 9.0.5.22

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 if WebSphere Application Server is installed
    Check for IBM WebSphere installation directories (typically under /opt/IBM or C:\IBM on Windows) or use system package managers. Look for the WebSphere profile directories and the installation root.
    Affected if WebSphere Application Server 8.5 or 9.0 is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed WebSphere version
    Locate the version file in the WebSphere installation directory, typically under bin/versionInfo.sh (Linux/Unix) or bin\versionInfo.bat (Windows). Run this script to obtain the exact installed version number.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 8.5.0.0 through 8.5.5.26 OR 9.0.0.0 through 9.0.5.21
  3. Verify XML processing is enabled
    Review the WebSphere application configurations and XML parser settings. Check for deployed applications that process XML input through WebSphere's XML processing capabilities, including SOAP services, XML-based web services, or any application using WebSphere's XML transformation features.
    Affected if Applications using WebSphere's XML processing features are deployed and processing untrusted XML input
  4. Check for external entity processing in XML parsers
    Examine the XML parser configuration files and Java application code for settings related to external entity processing. Look for parser configurations that do not disable external entity resolution (such as 'external-general-entities' or 'external-parameter-entities' not set to false).
    Affected if XML parsers are configured to allow external entity resolution

You are affected if WebSphere Application Server version 8.5.0.0 through 8.5.5.26 or 9.0.0.0 through 9.0.5.21 is installed AND your applications process XML data through WebSphere with external entity processing enabled.

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 8.5.5.27 / 9.0.5.22 or later
Fixed in 8.5.5.279.0.5.22
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM-provided security patch for this vulnerability and disable external entity processing in XML parsers used by WebSphere applications. Review and sanitize XML input processing to prevent XXE attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

WebSphere Application Server 8.5.5.27 (for 8.5.x) or 9.0.5.22 (for 9.0.x)

  1. Identify the current WebSphere Application Server version (8.5.x or 9.0.x) using the admin console or versionInfo command
  2. For WebSphere 8.5.x: Plan upgrade to version 8.5.5.27
  3. For WebSphere 9.0.x: Plan upgrade to version 9.0.5.22
  4. Download the appropriate fix pack from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/)
  5. Back up the current WebSphere installation and configuration
  6. Apply the fix using IBM Installation Manager or the Update Installer tool
  7. Restart WebSphere Application Server after applying the fix
  8. Verify the fix was applied successfully and test for regressions in a non-production environment before deploying to production
Caveat Standard WebSphere fix pack upgrade - review IBM's fix pack release notes for any migration or compatibility considerations before applying

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

Fix this in Websphere Application Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2024-45086 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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