CVE-2023-6836 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core. A fix is available for org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
WSO2 products vulnerable to XML External Entity attack
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-6836 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core☕org.wso2.am:wso2am☕org.wso2.carbon.registry:org.wso2.carbon.registry.extensions☕org.wso2.carbon.event-processing:org.wso2.carbon.event.processor.core☕org.wso2.carbon.analytics-common:org.wso2.carbon.event.input.adapter.core☕org.wso2.carbon.governance:org.wso2.carbon.governance.commonReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Multiple WSO2 products have been identified as vulnerable due to an XML External Entity (XXE) attack abuses a widely available but rarely used feature of XML parsers to access sensitive information.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core | all versions | 4.7.24org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core:4.7.24 |
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.am:wso2am | all versions | 4.0.0-betaorg.wso2.am:wso2am:4.0.0-beta |
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.carbon.registry:org.wso2.carbon.registry.extensions | all versions | 4.7.31org.wso2.carbon.registry:org.wso2.carbon.registry.extensions:4.7.31 |
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.carbon.event-processing:org.wso2.carbon.event.processor.core | all versions | 2.2.12org.wso2.carbon.event-processing:org.wso2.carbon.event.processor.core:2.2.12 |
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.carbon.analytics-common:org.wso2.carbon.event.input.adapter.core | all versions | 5.2.23org.wso2.carbon.analytics-common:org.wso2.carbon.event.input.adapter.core:5.2.23 |
| ☕Maven | org.wso2.carbon.governance:org.wso2.carbon.governance.common | all versions | 4.8.13org.wso2.carbon.governance:org.wso2.carbon.governance.common:4.8.13 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.wso2.carbon.commons:org.wso2.carbon.ntask.core to 4.7.24 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-6836 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-6836 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-6836. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-6836 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-6836 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.