# CVE-2020-1693: XML external entity in spacewalk

> Unauthenticated attackers can exploit XML external entity flaws in Spacewalk to read files, cause denial of service, or execute arbitrary code.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-79v3-cg9r-f55q

## What is CVE-2020-1693?

CVE-2020-1693 is a high-severity vulnerability in Red Hat spacewalk, published on 17 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in Spacewalk up to version 2.9 where it was vulnerable to XML internal entity attacks via the /rpc/api endpoint. An unauthenticated remote attacker could use this flaw to retrieve the content of certain files and trigger a denial of service, or in certain circumstances, execute arbitrary code on the Spacewalk server.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-1693?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Redhat Spacewalk.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-1693?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2020-1693 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1693 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-1693 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-1693 is a high-severity vulnerability in Red Hat spacewalk, published on 17 Feb 2020. 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-2020-1693 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat spacewalk. 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-2020-1693/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1693/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-1693
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1693
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-1693

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1693/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.