# CVE-2013-4034: XML external entity in n/a

> Authenticated attackers can read arbitrary files on the server via XML External Entity injection in IBM Cognos Business Intelligence.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Nov 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5mpf-9249-jgx6

## What is CVE-2013-4034?

CVE-2013-4034 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Nov 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence 8.4.1 before IF3, 10.1.0 before IF4, 10.1.1 before IF4, 10.2.0 before IF4, 10.2.1 before IF2, and 10.2.1.1 before IF1 allows remote authenticated users to read arbitrary files via an XML external entity declaration in conjunction with an entity reference, related to an XML External Entity (XXE) issue.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4034?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Cognos Business Intelligence.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4034?

No fix has been published for CVE-2013-4034 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2013-4034 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4034 exists.

Public exploit code:

- IBM Cognos Business Intelligence - XML External Entity Information Disclosure (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2012-4858](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4858/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2016-8960](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8960/): Privilege escalation in Cognos Business Intelligence (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-3036](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3036/): Memory corruption in Cognos TM1 (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2017-1764](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1764/): Information disclosure in Cognos Business Intelligence (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2016-0254](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0254/): XML external entity in Cognos Business Intelligence (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4034 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4034 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Nov 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4034 exists.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2013-4034/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4034/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4034
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4034
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4034

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4034/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.