Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:NCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-20052 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability in Clamav Clamav. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2023-20052 is an XML external entity injection vulnerability in the DMG file parser of the ClamAV scanning library, affecting versions 1.0.0 and earlier, 0.105.1 and earlier, and 0.103.7 and earlier. The flaw stems from enabling XML entity substitution, which can be triggered during file scanning and is tracked under CWE-611 and CWE-776.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by submitting a crafted DMG file for scanning on an affected device. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to leak bytes from any file readable by the ClamAV scanning process, resulting in limited information disclosure with a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3.
The referenced Cisco Security Advisory at sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-clamav-xxe-TcSZduhN details the vulnerability and associated remediation steps for affected ClamAV deployments.
EPSS for this CVE rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1026 on 2025-12-18 before receding to the current value of 0.0355, indicating that exploitation interest emerged after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-24231
Vulnerability Data
On Feb 15, 2023, the following vulnerability in the ClamAV scanning library was disclosed: A vulnerability in the DMG file parser of ClamAV versions 1.0.0 and earlier, 0.105.1 and earlier, and 0.103.7 and earlier could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker…
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to access sensitive information on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to enabling XML entity substitution that may result in XML external entity injection. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted DMG file to be scanned by ClamAV on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to leak bytes from any file that may be read by the ClamAV scanning process.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.5.1V15.3.2
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Vulnerability scanning can discover XXE flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.
Hardened XML parser configurations directly disable external entity resolution.
Patching eliminates XXE-vulnerable parser versions but is only one aspect of software maintenance.
Secure SDLC practices include input validation and safe XML parser configuration that prevent XXE.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.