# CVE-2012-2926: XML external entity in n/a

> Remote attackers can read arbitrary files or cause denial of service via XML parser vulnerabilities in Atlassian products.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 May 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m4f6-29hg-8grv

## What is CVE-2012-2926?

CVE-2012-2926 is a critical vulnerability in Atlassian Crucible, published on 22 May 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Atlassian JIRA before 5.0.1; Confluence before 3.5.16, 4.0 before 4.0.7, and 4.1 before 4.1.10; FishEye and Crucible before 2.5.8, 2.6 before 2.6.8, and 2.7 before 2.7.12; Bamboo before 3.3.4 and 3.4.x before 3.4.5; and Crowd before 2.0.9, 2.1 before 2.1.2, 2.2 before 2.2.9, 2.3 before 2.3.7, and 2.4 before 2.4.1 do not properly restrict the capabilities of third-party XML parsers, which allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files or cause a denial of service (resource consumption) via unspecified vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-2926?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Atlassian Bamboo, Atlassian Confluence, Atlassian Confluence Server, Atlassian Crowd, Atlassian Crucible, Atlassian Fisheye, Atlassian Jira.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-2926?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-2926 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-2926 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-2926 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Atlassian Tempo 6.4.3 / JIRA 5.0.0 / Gliffy 3.7.0 - XML Parsing Denial of Service (exploitdb)
- Atlassian Crowd XML Entity Expansion Remote File Access (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in Atlassian Crucible

- [CVE-2026-21589](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21589/): Atlassian Multiple Products Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-26136](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26136/): Auth bypass in Bamboo Data Center (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-5229](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5229/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-9757](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9757/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-8360](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8360/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-2926 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-2926 is a critical vulnerability in Atlassian Crucible, published on 22 May 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-2926 exists.

Affected product: Atlassian Crucible. 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-2012-2926/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2926/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-2926
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-2926
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-2926

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2926/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.