Security Resilience

CVE-2023-38490

XXE in Getkirby Kirby 3.5.0 – 3.5.8.3

Published
27 July 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.017 77th percentile
Risk Priority 62 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-2023-38490 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability in Getkirby Kirby. Its CVSS base score is 6.8 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 23% 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.

Kirby is a content management system affected by an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in versions prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6. The flaw exists only in sites or plugins that invoke the Xml data handler via Data::decode with the xml type or the Xml::parse method; the Kirby core itself does not call these routines. The root cause is the use of PHP's LIBXML_NOENT flag during parsing, which enables resolution of external entities and thereby exposes the application to CWE-611 and CWE-776 weaknesses.

An unauthenticated attacker who can supply a crafted XML document—through file upload, an external URL fetch, or any other path that reaches the vulnerable parsing code—can read arbitrary files on the server or induce server-side request forgery. Exploitation requires that the target site or plugin actually uses the affected XML methods on untrusted input; sites that never call these functions are unaffected. The CVSS 3.1 score of 6.8 reflects the network attack vector combined with high attack complexity and the confidentiality impact of file disclosure.

The maintainers addressed the issue by removing the LIBXML_NOENT constant from Xml::parse in the listed patch releases, eliminating external-entity processing for all callers. The changes are documented in the corresponding GitHub commits and release tags for each branch. The EPSS score remains flat at 0.2037 with no material increase after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Kirby is a content management system. A vulnerability in versions prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6 only affects Kirby sites that use the `Xml` data handler (e.g. `Data::decode($string, 'xml')`) or the `Xml::parse()` method in site or plugin code.…

more

The Kirby core does not use any of the affected methods. XML External Entities (XXE) is a little used feature in the XML markup language that allows to include data from external files in an XML structure. If the name of the external file can be controlled by an attacker, this becomes a vulnerability that can be abused for various system impacts like the disclosure of internal or confidential data that is stored on the server (arbitrary file disclosure) or to perform network requests on behalf of the server (server-side request forgery, SSRF). Kirby's `Xml::parse()` method used PHP's `LIBXML_NOENT` constant, which enabled the processing of XML external entities during the parsing operation. The `Xml::parse()` method is used in the `Xml` data handler (e.g. `Data::decode($string, 'xml')`). Both the vulnerable method and the data handler are not used in the Kirby core. However they may be used in site or plugin code, e.g. to parse RSS feeds or other XML files. If those files are of an external origin (e.g. uploaded by a user or retrieved from an external URL), attackers may be able to include an external entity in the XML file that will then be processed in the parsing process. Kirby sites that don't use XML parsing in site or plugin code are *not* affected. The problem has been patched in Kirby 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6. In all of the mentioned releases, the maintainers have removed the `LIBXML_NOENT` constant as processing of external entities is out of scope of the parsing logic. This protects all uses of the method against the described vulnerability.

CWE(s)

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.
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.
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).
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-38492Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2025-30207Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2025-31493Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2025-30159Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2024-26481Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-42137Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-42174Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-42051Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-21896Same product: Getkirby Kirby
CVE-2026-42069Same product: Getkirby Kirby

Affected Assets

getkirby
kirby
3.5.0 — 3.5.8.3 · 3.6.0 — 3.6.6.3 · 3.7.0 — 3.7.5.2

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.

addresses: CWE-611

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

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes

References