CVE-2023-27554 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE • 05/11/2023
IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 and 9.0 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 249185.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/26/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-27554 affects IBM WebSphere Application Server versions 8.5 and 9.0, representing a critical XML External Entity Injection flaw that enables remote attackers to manipulate XML processing behavior. This vulnerability resides in the server's handling of XML data input, where insufficient validation allows external entities to be referenced and processed during XML parsing operations. The flaw stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize XML input streams, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can craft specially formatted XML payloads that trigger unintended resource access and processing behaviors.
The technical implementation of this XXE vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the server's XML parser through crafted requests containing external entity declarations. When the WebSphere server processes such malformed XML data, it attempts to resolve external references defined within the XML structure, potentially leading to information disclosure through data exfiltration or denial of service through excessive memory consumption. The vulnerability specifically impacts the server's XML processing capabilities and can be triggered through various attack vectors including SOAP requests, REST endpoints, or any interface that accepts XML formatted input. This flaw aligns with CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference) and represents a classic XXE attack pattern that has been widely documented across enterprise application platforms.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on IBM WebSphere Application Server for critical business applications. Attackers can leverage the XXE flaw to access internal system resources, potentially extracting sensitive configuration data, database connection strings, or other confidential information stored within the server environment. The memory consumption aspect of this vulnerability creates additional operational concerns as attackers can craft payloads designed to cause excessive resource utilization, leading to service degradation or complete system unavailability. The remote exploit nature of this vulnerability means that attackers do not require local system access or authentication credentials to initiate attacks, making the threat surface particularly concerning for publicly exposed web applications.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigations to address this XXE vulnerability including disabling external entity processing in XML parsers, implementing strict input validation controls, and configuring proper XML schema validation mechanisms. Security teams should review all XML processing components within the WebSphere environment and ensure that external entity resolution is disabled or properly restricted. The recommended approach involves configuring XML parsers to reject external entity references and implementing comprehensive input sanitization measures that prevent malicious XML constructs from being processed. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of vulnerable endpoints, while regular security assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across the application infrastructure. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining proper XML security configurations and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213 (Data from Information Repositories) and T1499 (Endpoint Denial of Service) for threat modeling purposes.