VulnerabilityPublished 24 Mar 2023Updated 30 May 2025

CVE-2023-28150: Independentsoft JODF · XML External Entity (XXE)

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium · fixed in 1.1.110 : update affected systems when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:07 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 54% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.1.110

CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:L/I:N/PR:N/S:U/UI:N

Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Vector: Network
Availability: None
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
Privileges Required: None
Scope: Unchanged
User Interaction: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Mar 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
n/a n/a	Affected <1.1.110	Fixed in 1.1.110

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2023-28150, European organizations should: 1) Identify and inventory all applications and services using Independentsoft JODF for DOCX processing. 2) Upgrade to Independentsoft JODF version 1.1.110 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. If an upgrade is not immediately possible, implement temporary mitigations such as disabling external entity resolution in XML parsers if configurable. 3) Employ strict input validation and sandboxing for DOCX files, including scanning for malicious content before processing. 4) Implement network egress filtering to prevent unauthorized outbound connections initiated by XML parsers resolving external entities. 5) Monitor logs for unusual XML parsing activity or unexpected network requests triggered by document processing. 6) Educate users and administrators about the risks of opening or processing untrusted DOCX files, especially those received from external sources. 7) Integrate document processing into secure workflows that isolate parsing operations from sensitive environments. These targeted steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific XML parsing context and the nature of the vulnerability.

Description

An issue was discovered in Independentsoft JODF before 1.1.110. The API is prone to XML external entity (XXE) injection via a remote DTD in a DOCX file.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-28150 depends largely on the extent to which Independentsoft JODF is integrated into their document processing workflows. Organizations that automate DOCX file handling—such as legal firms, financial institutions, government agencies, and enterprises dealing with large volumes of documents—may be at risk if they use vulnerable versions of this library. The vulnerability could allow attackers to exfiltrate sensitive configuration files, credentials, or other confidential data accessible to the XML parser environment. Although the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach could lead to data leaks, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations), and reputational damage. Since exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction, attackers could potentially weaponize malicious DOCX files delivered via email or file upload portals. However, the lack of known active exploits and the medium severity score suggest a moderate risk level. Organizations with strong perimeter defenses and secure file handling policies may mitigate exposure, but those with automated document ingestion pipelines should prioritize assessment and remediation.

CWE-611Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.
Implementation · System Configuration
Many XML parsers and validators can be configured to disable external entity expansion.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Data Serialization External Entities Blowup (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 15:57 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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