VulnerabilityPublished 3 Feb 2024Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-32327: IBM Security Verify Access Appliance · XML External Entity (XXE)

Affects IBM Security Verify Access ApplianceSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.1High

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

EPSS: 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 61% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

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).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
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.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 Feb 2024
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
IBM Security Verify Access Appliance	Affected =10.0.0.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediately review and restrict XML external entity processing in IBM Security Verify Access Appliance configurations, disabling external entity resolution if possible.
Monitor logs and network traffic for anomalous XML payloads or unusual memory usage patterns indicative of exploitation attempts.
Enforce strict access controls and multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise and limit attacker privileges.
Segregate the appliance within a secure network segment with limited exposure to untrusted networks.
Apply vendor patches or updates as soon as IBM releases them for this vulnerability.
Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on XML processing components.
Educate administrators and security teams about the risks of XXE vulnerabilities and the importance of secure XML parsing practices.
Consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) or XML security gateways that can detect and block malicious XML content.
Implement incident response plans that include procedures for handling potential data leakage or denial-of-service incidents related to this vulnerability.

Description

IBM Security Access Manager Container (IBM Security Verify Access Appliance 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.6.1 and IBM Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.6.1) is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 254783.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-32327 can be significant due to the critical role IBM Security Verify Access Appliance plays in identity and access management. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information such as configuration files, credentials, or internal network details, potentially facilitating further attacks. Memory exhaustion attacks could degrade service availability, impacting business operations and user access to critical systems. Given the appliance’s integration with enterprise authentication and authorization workflows, any compromise could undermine trust in access controls and lead to broader security breaches. Industries such as finance, government, healthcare, and telecommunications, which heavily rely on robust identity management, are particularly vulnerable. The requirement for authentication to exploit the vulnerability somewhat limits the attack surface but does not eliminate risk, especially from insider threats or compromised accounts. The absence of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive defense, but the high severity score underscores the urgency of mitigation. Failure to address this vulnerability could result in regulatory compliance issues under GDPR if personal data is exposed.

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 3 Nov 2025, 23:52 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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