XXE in Python plistlib

1) XML External Entity injection

EUVDB-ID: #VU80564

Risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 6.4 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-48565

CWE-ID: CWE-611 - Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference ('XXE')

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to gain access to sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input within the plistlib module. A remote attacker can pass a specially crafted XML code to the affected application and view contents of arbitrary files on the system or initiate requests to external systems.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may allow an attacker to view contents of arbitrary file on the server or perform network scanning of internal and external infrastructure.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Python: before 3.10.0

External links

http://bugs.python.org/issue42051
http://github.com/python/cpython/commit/05ee790f4d1cd8725a90b54268fc1dfe5b4d1fa2
http://github.com/python/cpython/commit/479553c7c11306a09ce34edb6ef208133b7b95fe
http://github.com/python/cpython/commit/e512bc799e3864fe3b1351757261762d63471efc

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.