# CVE-2024-49781: IBM OpenPages XML external entity injection

> Remote attackers can exploit XML external entity injection in IBM OpenPages to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L`)
- **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:** 20 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Aug 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8vgf-c76r-fp2x

## What is CVE-2024-49781?

CVE-2024-49781 is a high-severity vulnerability in IBM OpenPages with Watson, published on 20 Feb 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM OpenPages with Watson 8.3 and 9.0 IBM OpenPages is vulnerable to an XML external entity injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-49781?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Openpages With Watson.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-49781?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-49781 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-49781 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-49781 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM OpenPages with Watson

- [CVE-2023-40683](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40683/): IBM OpenPages with Watson privilege escalation (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-29907](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29907/): File upload in OpenPages with Watson (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-49782](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-49782/): IBM OpenPages improper certificate validation (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2023-38738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38738/): IBM OpenPages with Watson information disclosure (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2023-43039](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43039/): IBM OpenPages with Watson cross-site scripting (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-49781 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-49781 is a high-severity vulnerability in IBM OpenPages with Watson, published on 20 Feb 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-49781 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM OpenPages with Watson. 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-2024-49781/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-49781/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-49781
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-49781
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-49781

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-49781/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.