CVE-2026-14979 in Engineering Lifecycle Management
Summary
by MITRE • 07/17/2026
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management 7.0.3 ( Interim Fix 001 through ) Interim Fix 021, 7.1.0 ( Interim Fix 001 through ) Interim Fix 009, and 7.2.0 and 7.2.0 Interim Fix 001 DOORS could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service due to improper handling of XML entity expansion.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/18/2026
This vulnerability affects IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management versions 7.0.3 through 7.2.0, specifically targeting the DOORS component within these releases. The flaw stems from inadequate validation of XML entity expansion processing which creates opportunities for malicious actors to exploit the system through crafted XML inputs. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-400 as an uncontrolled resource consumption issue, where the improper handling of XML entities allows for excessive resource utilization that can lead to system instability.
The technical implementation involves XML parsers within the DOORS application failing to properly restrict or limit the expansion of XML entities during processing. When an attacker submits maliciously constructed XML documents containing recursive or large entity references, the system attempts to resolve these entities fully, consuming significant computational resources and memory. This behavior can be leveraged to create a denial of service condition where legitimate users are unable to access the system resources due to resource exhaustion.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a serious risk to organizations relying on IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management for their engineering processes. The denial of service condition can disrupt critical development workflows, testing cycles, and collaborative engineering activities that depend on DOORS functionality. Attackers could potentially cause cascading failures in engineering environments where multiple users rely on shared databases and collaborative platforms, leading to production delays and compromised project timelines.
The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided interim fixes for each affected version, implementing XML input validation controls, and configuring proper entity expansion limits within the application's XML processing components. Network-level protections such as rate limiting and intrusion detection systems can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while regular monitoring of system resource utilization provides early warning of potential attacks.
Security teams should also consider implementing application firewalls or API gateways that can filter malicious XML content before it reaches the vulnerable DOORS components. The remediation process requires careful testing of interim fixes in staging environments to ensure compatibility with existing engineering workflows and data integrity. Additionally, organizations should review their access controls and implement least privilege principles for XML processing capabilities to minimize potential attack surface while maintaining operational functionality.