Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2024-52800 is a low-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 2.3 (Low).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 38% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; 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.
veraPDF, an open source PDF/A validation library, contains a theoretical remote code execution issue when policy checks are executed via the command-line interface using custom schematron files. The CLI path invokes an XSL transformation that could be abused, though the flaw does not affect standard validation or the library’s common policy-check usage that relies on Schematron syntax rather than direct XSLT. The vulnerability is tracked as CWE-611 and carries a CVSS 4.0 score of 2.3.
An attacker would need to supply a malicious custom policy file containing XSLT to a user who then processes it on the CLI; successful exploitation could permit arbitrary code execution on the victim system. The attack requires user interaction and is limited to those who deliberately load untrusted custom XSLT-based profiles, which the project states is uncommon.
The GitHub security advisory GHSA-4cx5-89vm-833x confirms the issue is still unpatched. It recommends that users load custom policy files only from trusted sources and avoid untrusted XSLT content until a fix is released. The associated EPSS values (current 0.1249, peak 0.1682) have not shown a pronounced climb from a low baseline.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-3420
Vulnerability Data
veraPDF is an open source PDF/A validation library. Executing policy checks using custom schematron files via the CLI invokes an XSL transformation that may theoretically lead to a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability. This doesn't affect the standard validation and…
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policy checks functionality, veraPDF's common use cases. Most veraPDF users don't insert any custom XSLT code into policy profiles, which are based on Schematron syntax rather than direct XSL transforms. For users who do, only load custom policy files from sources you trust. This issue has not yet been patched. Users are advised to be cautious of XSLT code until a patch is available.
- 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.
Hardened XML parser configurations directly disable external entity resolution.
Secure SDLC practices include input validation and safe XML parser configuration that prevent XXE.
Vulnerability scanning can discover XXE flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.
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.
Security testing in development catches XXE via static analysis and dynamic XML fuzzing.
Vulnerability management identifies and patches XML libraries with unsafe default entity settings.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and entity handling that directly prevents XXE.
Application security requirements explicitly call for disabling external entity processing in XML parsers.
Secure architecture principles include safe parser configuration that mitigates external entity risks.
Secure coding standards require disabling DTDs and external entities in XML processing.