HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-10683
CRITICAL

CVE-2020-10683

CWE-611Published: May 1, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

dom4j before 2.0.3 and 2.1.x before 2.1.3 allows external DTDs and External Entities by default, which might enable XXE attacks. However, there is popular external documentation from OWASP showing how to enable the safe, non-default behavior in any application that uses dom4j.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-10683 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Canonical1 product(s)
ubuntu linux
dom4j_project1 product(s)
dom4j
netapp5 product(s)
oncommand api servicesoncommand workflow automationsnap creator frameworksnapcentersnapmanager
openSUSE1 product(s)
leap
Oracle30 product(s)
agile plmapplication testing suitebanking platformbusiness process management suitecommunications application session controllercommunications diameter signaling routercommunications unified inventory managementdata integratordocumakerendeca information discovery integratorenterprise data qualityenterprise manager base platform+18
Source: NVD CPE · 74 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1694235
PATCHhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commit/a8228522a99a02146106672a34c104adbda5c658
PATCHhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commits/version-2.0.3
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
PATCHhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1694235
PATCHhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commit/a8228522a99a02146106672a34c104adbda5c658
PATCHhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commits/version-2.0.3
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00061.html
ADVISORYhttps://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/XML_External_Entity_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.html
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/issues/87
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/releases/tag/version-2.1.3
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200518-0002/
ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/4575-1/
ADVISORYhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
ADVISORYhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00061.html
ADVISORYhttps://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/XML_External_Entity_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.html
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/issues/87
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/releases/tag/version-2.1.3
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200518-0002/
ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/4575-1/
ADVISORYhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
ADVISORYhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html

All References (40)

→
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00061.htmlThird Party Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1694235Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/XML_External_Entity_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.htmlThird Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commit/a8228522a99a02146106672a34c104adbda5c658Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/commits/version-2.0.3Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/issues/87Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/dom4j/dom4j/releases/tag/version-2.1.3Release Notes · Third Party Advisory
→
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r51f3f9801058e47153c0ad9bc6209d57a592fc0e7aefd787760911b8%40%3Cdev.velocity.apache.org%3E
→
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91c64cd51e68e97d524395474eaa25362d564572276b9917fcbf5c32%40%3Cdev.velocity.apache.org%3E
→
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb1b990d7920ae0d50da5109b73b92bab736d46c9788dd4b135cb1a51%40%3Cnotifications.freemarker.apache.org%3E
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200518-0002/Third Party Advisory
→
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4575-1/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.htmlPatch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.htmlPatch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.htmlPatch · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-10683
CVSS Score9.8 / 10
SeverityCRITICAL
WeaknessCWE-611
CISA KEVNo
Affected5 vendor(s)
PublishedMay 1, 2020

Related CVEs (CWE-611)

CVE-2023-38490
10.0
CVE-2017-8110
10.0
CVE-2018-1000124
10.0
CVE-2017-7664
10.0
CVE-2015-9280
10.0
CVE-2018-1000652
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2020-10683 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWatch. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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