CVE-2025-0162 in Aspera Shares
Summary
by MITRE • 03/07/2025
IBM Aspera Shares 1.9.9 through 1.10.0 PL7 is vulnerable to an XML external entity injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote authenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/13/2025
IBM Aspera Shares versions 1.9.9 through 1.10.0 PL7 contains a critical XML external entity injection vulnerability that fundamentally compromises the application's data processing security. This vulnerability arises from the application's insufficient validation of XML input data, specifically when handling XML entities that reference external resources. The flaw exists in the XML parser implementation where external entity declarations are not properly restricted or sanitized, allowing malicious actors to craft specially formatted XML payloads that can trigger unintended resource access patterns. The vulnerability manifests when the application processes XML data containing external entity references, enabling attackers to exploit the system's XML processing capabilities beyond intended boundaries.
The technical exploitation of this XXE vulnerability follows established attack patterns documented in CWE-611 and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213.1001 for data from information repositories. An authenticated attacker with access to the system can construct malicious XML requests that reference external resources, potentially causing the application to retrieve sensitive data from internal systems or consume excessive memory resources through recursive entity expansion. The vulnerability enables information disclosure through entity expansion that can expose internal file systems, network resources, or sensitive configuration data. Memory consumption attacks can be executed through parameter entity expansion that creates recursive references, leading to denial of service conditions and resource exhaustion that can impact system availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass potential system compromise and service disruption. Attackers can leverage the XXE vulnerability to access sensitive data stored within the application's environment, potentially including user credentials, system configurations, or proprietary information. The memory consumption aspect of the vulnerability can result in system instability and denial of service conditions that affect legitimate users and operations. This vulnerability particularly impacts enterprise environments where Aspera Shares serves as a critical file transfer and collaboration platform, making it an attractive target for adversaries seeking to disrupt business operations or gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on the application for secure file sharing and collaboration workflows, potentially exposing their data transfer processes to unauthorized access and resource exhaustion attacks.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including disabling external entity processing in XML parsers, implementing strict input validation for all XML data, and applying the latest security patches provided by IBM. The remediation approach should follow security best practices outlined in the OWASP XML External Entity Prevention Cheat Sheet and align with NIST SP 800-53 security controls for input validation and data protection. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit the attack surface and reduce the impact of potential exploitation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in other XML processing components within the organization's infrastructure. Additionally, implementing monitoring and logging of XML processing activities can help detect potential exploitation attempts and provide forensic evidence for security incident response activities.