What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41770?

CVE-2021-41770 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 1.0%.

Pingfederate CVE-2021-41770

HIGH

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

2021-10-07 responsible-disclosure@pingidentity.com

XXE Pingfederate Pingidentity

7.5

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-611 OWASP Top 10:2025 A02:2025 - Security Misconfiguration ASVS 5.0 V13 - Configuration XML external entity prevention MITRE ATT&CK 2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could read arbitrary files or perform SSRF through XML processing by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 1.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Ping Identity PingFederate before 10.3.1 mishandles pre-parsing validation, leading to an XXE attack that can achieve XML file disclosure. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Disable external entity processing in XML parsers, use JSON instead of XML where possible.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as XML External Entity (XXE) (CWE-611), which allows attackers to read arbitrary files or perform SSRF through XML processing. Ping Identity PingFederate before 10.3.1 mishandles pre-parsing validation, leading to an XXE attack that can achieve XML file disclosure. Affected products include: Pingidentity Pingfederate. Version information: before 10.3.1.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

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

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

1.0%

Top 43% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 1.0%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +1

CVSS: +38

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

XML External Entity Injection HIGH

XML External Entity (XXE) attacks exploit XML parsers that process Document Type Definitions (DTDs) without proper restrictions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Same weakness CWE-611 – Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

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References

Advisories & patches

REF https://docs.pingidentity.com/bundle/pingfederate-103/page/ruz1628492711606.html REF https://www.pingidentity.com/en/resources/downloads/pingfederate.html

Search Externally

GitHub PoC

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