Description
libxml2 2.6.32 and earlier does not properly detect recursion during entity expansion in an attribute value, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | libxml2 | 2.6.32.dfsg-3 | — |
| Debian 13 | libxml2 | 2.6.32.dfsg-3 | — |
| Debian 12 | libxml2 | 2.6.32.dfsg-3 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | libxml2 | 2.6.32.dfsg-2+lenny1 | DTSA-158-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | libxml2 | 2.6.27.dfsg-3 | DSA-1631-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | libxml2 +2 | 2.6.26-2.1.2.4 | RHSA-2008:0836 |
| RHEL 4 | libxml2 +2 | 2.6.16-12.3 | RHSA-2008:0836 |
| RHEL 3 | libxml2 +2 | 2.5.10-11 | RHSA-2008:0836 |
| RHEL 2 | libxml2 +2 | 2.4.19-9.ent | RHSA-2008:0836 |
Advisories 3
- RHSA-2008:0836 Red Hat Security Advisory: libxml2 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1631-1 libxml2 - denial of service Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DTSA-158-1 libxml2 - denial of service Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- USN-644-1 vendor-advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3639
- 31855 third-party-advisory
- 1020728 vdb-entry
- ADV-2009-1621 vdb-entry
- FEDORA-2008-7395 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2008:0836 vendor-advisory
- 32807 third-party-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2009-06-08-1 vendor-advisory
- 31982 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2008-2971 vdb-entry
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0017.html
- ADV-2008-2843 vdb-entry
- http://xmlsoft.org/news.html
- 31590 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2009-1522 vdb-entry
- 20081031 VMSA-2008-0017 Updated ESX packages for libxml2, ucd-snmp, libtiff mailing-list
- USN-640-1 vendor-advisory
- 31728 third-party-advisory
- GLSA-200812-06 vendor-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2009-06-17-1 vendor-advisory
- 32488 third-party-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2008:018 vendor-advisory
- 31566 third-party-advisory
- 30783 vdb-entry
- http://wiki.rpath.com/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0325
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6496 vdb-entry signature
- ADV-2008-2419 vdb-entry
- 35379 third-party-advisory
- MDVSA-2008:192 vendor-advisory
- 32974 third-party-advisory
- http://svn.gnome.org/viewvc/libxml2?view=revision&revision=3772
- FEDORA-2008-7594 vendor-advisory
- DSA-1631 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=458086
- [xml] 20080820 Security fix for libxml2 mailing-list
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9812 vdb-entry signature
- MDVSA-2008:180 vendor-advisory
- 31558 third-party-advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3613
- [Security-announce] 20081030 VMSA-2008-0017 Updated ESX packages for libxml2, ucd-snmp, libtiff mailing-list
- 31748 third-party-advisory