Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:LCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-47160 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability in Ibm Cognos Controller. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked at the 43th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
IBM Cognos Controller versions 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP3 and IBM Controller 11.1.0 are vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack, corresponding to CWE-611, when processing XML data. This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-47160, carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L), highlighting its high severity primarily due to the potential for sensitive information disclosure alongside limited availability impact.
A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability without authentication, privileges, or user interaction, requiring only network access and low attack complexity. Exploitation enables the attacker to disclose sensitive information from the server or consume excessive memory resources, potentially leading to denial-of-service conditions.
IBM has issued a security advisory providing details on this vulnerability, available at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7183597.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-51295
Vulnerability Data
IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP3 and IBM Controller 11.1.0 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources.
- 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
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Secure configuration settings can disable external entity processing in XML parsers.
Developer testing can discover XXE flaws through targeted XML parsing tests.
Input validation can reject or sanitize XML containing external entity references.
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.