Security Resilience

CVE-2023-29443

XXE in Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer 6.9

XXE
Published
26 April 2023
Modified
03 February 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.030 87th percentile
Risk Priority 46 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-29443 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability in Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer. Its CVSS base score is 4.9 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 13% 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.

Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus before version 14105, ServiceDesk Plus MSP before 14200, SupportCenter Plus before 14200, and AssetExplorer before 6989 contain an XML external entity vulnerability. The flaw resides in the Reports integration API endpoint, which processes XML responses from an attacker-controlled server without proper restrictions, allowing SDAdmin users to trigger XXE parsing.

An authenticated SDAdmin attacker can supply a crafted server endpoint that returns malformed XML, enabling the application to retrieve and expose sensitive internal files or resources over the network. The attack requires high privileges and targets confidentiality only, consistent with the CVSS 4.9 rating and CWE-611 classification.

Vendor advisories at https://www.manageengine.com/products/service-desk/CVE-2023-29443.html recommend upgrading the affected products to the fixed releases listed in the description to eliminate the vulnerable XML handling code.

The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0583 with no material increase since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A02:2025 Security Misconfiguration

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus before 14105, ServiceDesk Plus MSP before 14200, SupportCenter Plus before 14200, and AssetExplorer before 6989 allow SDAdmin attackers to conduct XXE attacks via a crafted server that sends malformed XML from a Reports integration API endpoint.

CWE(s)
CWE-611

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-28219Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2024-10839Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2023-35786Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2023-26600Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer
CVE-2023-22624Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2023-26601Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer
CVE-2023-28340Same product class: network monitoring / SIEM
CVE-2024-38869Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Servicedesk Plus
CVE-2024-27314Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Servicedesk Plus
CVE-2023-34197Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Servicedesk Plus

Affected Assets

zohocorp
manageengine assetexplorer
6.9
zohocorp
manageengine servicedesk plus
14.1 · ≤ 14.1
zohocorp
manageengine servicedesk plus msp
14.0 · ≤ 14.0
zohocorp
manageengine supportcenter plus
14.0 · ≤ 14.0

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.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

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

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Hardened XML parser configurations directly disable external entity resolution.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

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

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

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.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.32 Intellectual property rights partial match
removes

References