VulnerabilityPublished 20 Mar 2026Updated 23 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-33371: Zimbra Collaboration · XML External Entity (XXE)

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 14% 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:L/I:N/A:N

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

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: 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.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Mar 2026
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

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-33371, organizations should first verify if they are running Zimbra Collaboration Suite versions 10.0 or 10.1 and restrict access to the Exchange Web Services (EWS) SOAP interface to trusted and authenticated users only. Network segmentation and strict firewall rules should limit exposure of the EWS interface to internal or VPN-only access. Administrators should monitor authentication logs for suspicious access patterns that could indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Since no official patches are currently available, consider disabling or restricting the use of the EWS SOAP interface if it is not essential. Additionally, implement strong authentication mechanisms, including multi-factor authentication, to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Regularly audit and rotate credentials used for accessing Zimbra services. When patches become available, apply them promptly. Finally, consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block malicious XML payloads containing external entity references.

Description

An issue was discovered in Zimbra Collaboration (ZCS) 10.0 and 10.1. An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability exists in the Zimbra Exchange Web Services (EWS) SOAP interface due to improper handling of XML input. An authenticated attacker can submit crafted XML data that is processed by an XML parser with external entity resolution enabled. Successful exploitation may allow disclosure of sensitive local files from the server.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-33371 is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive local files on Zimbra Collaboration servers. Such information leakage can include configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data stored on the server, which could facilitate further attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement within an organization’s network. Since the vulnerability requires authentication, the risk is somewhat mitigated by access controls; however, compromised or weak credentials could enable exploitation. Organizations relying on Zimbra Collaboration for email and calendaring services may face confidentiality breaches, potentially exposing sensitive corporate or personal information. The impact is limited to confidentiality, with no direct effect on system integrity or availability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but attackers may develop exploits over time, especially given the widespread use of Zimbra in enterprises and government agencies worldwide.

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

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Mar 2026, 19:19 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611

Technical details

References

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