# CVE-2021-41770: XML external entity in n/a

> Attackers can exploit improper pre-parsing validation to perform XML External Entity attacks, leading to the disclosure of sensitive XML files.

- **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:** No
- **Published:** 7 Oct 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rpvm-9qg3-rjh7

## What is CVE-2021-41770?

CVE-2021-41770 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Oct 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Ping Identity PingFederate before 10.3.1 mishandles pre-parsing validation, leading to an XXE attack that can achieve XML file disclosure.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-41770?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pingidentity Pingfederate.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-41770?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-41770 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-41770 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-41770 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-40329](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40329/): The Authentication API in Ping Identity PingFederate before 10.3 mishandles certain aspects of external password management. (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-40545](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40545/): PingFederate OAuth client_secret_jwt Authentication Bypass (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-37283](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37283/): Authentication Bypass via HTML Form & Identifier First Adapter (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2022-40722](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40722/): Misconfiguration of RSA padding for offline MFA in the PingID Adapter for PingFederate. (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2023-39219](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39219/): Admin Console Denial of Service via Java class enumeration (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-41770 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-41770 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Oct 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-2021-41770 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2021-41770/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41770/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-41770
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41770
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-41770

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41770/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.