# CVE-2012-1102: XML external entity in perl-xml-atom

> Attackers can exploit XML external entity injection in the Perl XML::Atom library to read protected resources from the server.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Jul 2021
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-1102, DSA-2424-1, GHSA-cwv6-3m5x-7f9p

## What is CVE-2012-1102?

CVE-2012-1102 is a high-severity vulnerability in perl-xml-atom, published on 9 Jul 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

It was discovered that the XML::Atom Perl module before version 0.39 did not disable external entities when parsing XML from potentially untrusted sources. This may allow attackers to gain read access to otherwise protected resources, depending on how the library is used.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-1102?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Xml\ \.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-1102?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-1102 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1102 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in perl-xml-atom

- [CVE-2025-40934](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40934/): XML-Sig prior to 0.68 for Perl improperly validates XML without signatures (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-9390](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9390/): XML::Sig versions before 0.71 for Perl allow XPath injection in ID lookup (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-9487](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9487/): XML::Sig versions before 0.71 for Perl allow signature wrapping via duplicate ID (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-18568](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18568/): Security feature bypass in XML::Sig (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-1102 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-1102 is a high-severity vulnerability in perl-xml-atom, published on 9 Jul 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1102 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: perl-xml-atom. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1102/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1102/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-1102
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1102
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-1102

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1102/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.