VulnerabilityPublished 24 Mar 2023Updated 30 May 2025

CVE-2023-28152: Independentsoft JWord · XML External Entity (XXE)

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 1.1.110 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

Upgrade com.independentsoft/jword to 1.1.110.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mavencom.independentsoft/jword`pkg:maven/com.independentsoft/jword`Other threats	Affected <1.1.110	Fixed in 1.1.110

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2023-28152, European organizations should first identify any internal or third-party applications that utilize the Independentsoft JWord library for DOCX processing. If such usage is confirmed, upgrading to version 1.1.110 or later where the vulnerability is fixed is the most effective measure. In the absence of an available patch, organizations should implement strict input validation and sanitization to block or quarantine DOCX files containing external entity references or remote DTDs. Employing XML parsers configured to disable external entity resolution and DTD processing can prevent exploitation. Additionally, sandboxing document processing components and restricting their network access can limit the impact of any attempted XXE attacks. Monitoring logs for unusual XML parsing errors or unexpected outbound network requests during document processing can help detect exploitation attempts. Finally, educating users and administrators about the risks of processing untrusted DOCX files and enforcing strict document handling policies will reduce exposure.

Description

An issue was discovered in Independentsoft JWord 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-2023-28152 depends largely on the usage of the Independentsoft JWord library within their software stacks, particularly in applications that process DOCX files. If exploited, attackers could gain unauthorized access to sensitive data residing on affected systems by leveraging the XXE flaw to read local files or internal network resources. This can lead to data breaches involving confidential corporate documents, personally identifiable information (PII), or intellectual property. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, the primary risk is data confidentiality loss. The ease of exploitation (no privileges or user interaction required) increases the threat level, especially in environments where untrusted DOCX files are processed automatically or with minimal validation. European organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, legal, and government, which often handle sensitive documents, could face regulatory consequences under GDPR if data confidentiality is compromised. However, the absence of known active exploitation and the medium severity score suggest the threat is moderate but warrants proactive mitigation to prevent potential data leakage.

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

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 15:58 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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