Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-27476

XXE in Osgeo Owslib ≤ 0.28.1

XXE
Published
08 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0098 59th percentile
Risk Priority 63 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-27476 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability in Osgeo Owslib. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 41% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A02:2025 Security Misconfiguration

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OWSLib is a Python package for client programming with Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web service interface standards, and their related content models. OWSLib's XML parser (which supports both `lxml` and `xml.etree`) does not disable entity resolution, and could lead to…

more

arbitrary file reads from an attacker-controlled XML payload. This affects all XML parsing in the codebase. This issue has been addressed in version 0.28.1. All users are advised to upgrade. The only known workaround is to patch the library manually. See `GHSA-8h9c-r582-mggc` for details.

CWE(s)
CWE-611

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1213 Data from Information Repositories Collection
Adversaries may leverage information repositories to mine valuable information.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-58175Same vendor: Osgeo
CVE-2025-30220Same vendor: Osgeo
CVE-2023-29498Shared CWE-611
CVE-2024-52596Shared CWE-611
CVE-2023-40503Shared CWE-611
CVE-2023-29443Shared CWE-611
CVE-2024-54171Shared CWE-611
CVE-2023-40239Shared CWE-611
CVE-2024-52806Shared CWE-611
CVE-2024-50848Shared CWE-611

Affected Assets

osgeo
owslib
≤ 0.28.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.5.1
  • V15.3.2

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.

CA-8 Penetration Testing
addresses: CWE-611

Penetration testing includes XML external entity payloads, detecting XXE vulnerabilities and enabling their mitigation.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-611

Identifies XML external entity processing via monitoring of unusual file/network access or resource usage.

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.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened XML parser configurations directly disable external entity resolution.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include input validation and safe XML parser configuration that prevent XXE.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover XXE flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates XXE-vulnerable parser versions but is only one aspect of software maintenance.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development catches XXE via static analysis and dynamic XML fuzzing.

A.8.8 Management of technical vulnerabilities mostly match
finds

Vulnerability management identifies and patches XML libraries with unsafe default entity settings.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and entity handling that directly prevents XXE.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for disabling external entity processing in XML parsers.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include safe parser configuration that mitigates external entity risks.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards require disabling DTDs and external entities in XML processing.

References