CVE-2023-38490
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Kirby XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in the XML data handler
rank 47 = 15 + 25 + 1 + 6 + 0
rank@v1 · this cycle
Someone is already using it
CISA KEV catalog · public proof-of-concept · FIRST EPSS
EPSS 0.01701 · without this subject the record ranks 32
What it costs you if it fires
NVD CVSS base score, then the CNA's own
CVSS 10.0, from NVD · without this subject the record ranks 22
It is getting worse, not staying still
FIRST EPSS series, rescorings and bad loads removed
rose on 2025-08-14 · without this subject the record ranks 46
How much of the world it touches
NVD CPE configurations
5 products in the CPE ranges · without this subject the record ranks 41
Someone else already set the date
CISA KEV remediation due date
no CISA due date · without this subject the record ranks 47
$52,000 = $4.99M incident cost x 0.6121449559255632 exposure x 0.01701 likelihood
udv@v1 · unaudited · wrong for you until you say what you run
$4.99M is the cost of a breach that happened, from IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026, global average. It is not the value of any asset of yours. That average already covers breaches of every severity, so scaling it by exposure understates a partial-impact record. That is an assumption, not a measurement. Your own asset value goes in the decision record.
Hindsight · the state
Foresight · where to check next
This record is one instance of CWE-611, improper restriction of xml external entity reference. The index holds 1328 prior instances of this class, 8 KEV-listed. The nearest of its KEV-listed records are drawn beside this. taxonomy@v1
Sources disagree here.
Both shown, dated. We don't pick winners. disagreement-rules@v1
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Harm, if it fires from the vector and the weakness
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CISA KEV & Federal Remediation Deadline from the record and CISA
The fix, and how long it's been waiting.
Exploit Status & Known PoCs a ladder, not a score
Current rung: Proof-of-concept published · 1 public repository, 2023-07-28.
- RUNG 1Nothing observed in held sources
- RUNG 2Proof-of-concept published · 1 public repository2023-07-28receipt
- RUNG 3Exploited in the wild · CISA KEV listed
- RUNG 4Ransomware campaign use known
Affected & Fixed Versions as published
Show all 5 published ranges
A rung lights from a row in the index, never from an assessment. "Held sources" is the true scope of the claim: this index reads the CVE record, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST's EPSS and public proof-of-concept repositories, and it does not observe attacks.
Attack path
What it is stated by the CNA
Kirby is a content management system. A vulnerability in versions prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6 only affects Kirby sites that use the `Xml` data handler (e.g. `Data::decode($string, 'xml')`) or the `Xml::parse()` method in site or plugin code. The Kirby core does not use any of the affected methods. XML External Entities (XXE) is a little used feature in the XML markup language that allows to include data from external files in an XML structure. receipt
Read the rest of the CNA's description
If the name of the external file can be controlled by an attacker, this becomes a vulnerability that can be abused for various system impacts like the disclosure of internal or confidential data that is stored on the server (arbitrary file disclosure) or to perform network requests on behalf of the server (server-side request forgery, SSRF). Kirby's `Xml::parse()` method used PHP's `LIBXML_NOENT` constant, which enabled the processing of XML external entities during the parsing operation. The `Xml::parse()` method is used in the `Xml` data handler (e.g. `Data::decode($string, 'xml')`). Both the vulnerable method and the data handler are not used in the Kirby core. However they may be used in site or plugin code, e.g. to parse RSS feeds or other XML files. If those files are of an external origin (e.g. uploaded by a user or retrieved from an external URL), attackers may be able to include an external entity in the XML file that will then be processed in the parsing process. Kirby sites that don't use XML parsing in site or plugin code are *not* affected. The problem has been patched in Kirby 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6. In all of the mentioned releases, the maintainers have removed the `LIBXML_NOENT` constant as processing of external entities is out of scope of the parsing logic. This protects all uses of the method against the described vulnerability.
NVD's analysis a second authority
- severity
- 10 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
- weakness
- CWE-611; CWE-776
- affected versions
- getkirby kirby >= 3.5.0 < 3.5.8.3; getkirby kirby >= 3.6.0 < 3.6.6.3; getkirby kirby >= 3.7.0 < 3.7.5.2; and 2 more, listed in full below
- also scored by
- [email protected] 6.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
The CNA scored it 6.8 and NVD 10. Both are shown because both were published; we do not pick one.
check it yourself github.com github.com github.com github.com github.com github.com +1 morereceipt
Dated events
Movement the material steps
This score more than doubled inside 72 hours. Both observations are in the full history below.
Show all 24 observations
24 observations held. A highlighted step crossed a promotion threshold. A step marked with a scoring model moved because the instrument was replaced, not because the vulnerability changed. receipt
The pattern, elsewhere
This record is one instance of CWE-611, improper restriction of xml external entity reference. The index holds 1328 prior instances of this class, 8 KEV-listed. The nearest of its KEV-listed records are drawn beside this. [email protected]
"Matches n of m" counts the attributes the two records can both be compared on: the CVSS metrics they share a version of, any weakness class beyond this one, and the vendor. fit-rules@v1
1328 records in this class held. The six above are drawn from the ones CISA has listed as exploited, ranked by how much of the record matches this one. That is why every one of them is KEV-listed: the pool is, so the colour on those spokes says nothing the pool has not already said.
No curated product neighbourhood is held for this product, so the records above are the nearest this index can name. The neighbourhood table covers a small set of products and is extended by hand.
Siblings and hubs
Records related to this one
None. No alias set, and nothing in the corpus cites this identifier or shares its product family within 60 days.
Browse the index from here
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What usually comes next
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