Missing XML Validation

Last revision (mm/dd/yy): 2009

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Vulnerabilities Table of Contents

Description
Failure to enable validation when parsing XML gives an attacker the opportunity to supply malicious input.

Most successful attacks begin with a violation of the programmer's assumptions. By accepting an XML document without validating it against a DTD or XML schema, the programmer leaves a door open for attackers to provide unexpected, unreasonable, or malicious input. It is not possible for an XML parser to validate all aspects of a document's content; a parser cannot understand the complete semantics of the data. However, a parser can do a complete and thorough job of checking the document's structure and therefore guarantee to the code that processes the document that the content is well-formed.

Risk Factors

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 * Discuss the technical impact of a successful exploit of this vulnerability
 * Consider the likely [business impacts] of a successful attack

Short example name

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Short example name

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Related Attacks

 * Attack 1
 * Attack 2

Related Vulnerabilities

 * Vulnerability 1
 * Vulnerabiltiy 2

Related Controls

 * Category:Input Validation

Related Technical Impacts

 * Technical Impact 1
 * Technical Impact 2