libxml2: XML External Entity vulnerability
Published Nov 16, 2016
5.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 2.94%
Description
libxml2 2.9.4 and earlier, as used in XMLSec 1.2.23 and earlier and other products, does not offer a flag directly indicating that the current document may be read but other files may not be opened, which makes it easier for remote attackers to conduct XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via a crafted document.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 1
Running on/with
- ≤ 1.2.23
Configuration 2
- 12.04
- 14.04
- 16.04
- 18.04
No data.
Red Hat JBoss Core Services
n/a
Fixed · RHSA-2018:2486
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
libxml2
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
libxml2
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
libxml2
Will not fix
Red Hat JBoss Core Services
httpd
Affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat JBoss Core Services | n/a | Fixed | RHSA-2018:2486 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | libxml2 | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | libxml2 | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | libxml2 | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Core Services | httpd | Affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat mitigation
Application parsing untrusted input with libxml2 should be careful to NOT use entity expansion (enabled by XML_PARSE_NOENT) or DTD validation (XML_PARSE_DTDLOAD, XML_PARSE_DTDVALID) on such input.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
PoCAutomatable
NoTechnical Impact
PartialDecision
n/aAssessed Dec 4, 2025 · SSVC 2.0.3
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (11 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2.94% (0.02938) | 86.63th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.94% (0.02938) | 85.27th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.05% (0.00049) | 12.35th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.71% (0.00715) | 81.17th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 10, 2024 | 0.22% (0.00216) | 59.99th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 2, 2023 | 0.22% (0.00216) | 57.97th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.15% (0.00152) | 49.59th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.32% (0.01319) | 71.27th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 23, 2023 | 1.32% (0.01319) | 71.23th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.32% (0.01319) | 69.22th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.32% (0.01319) | 44.98th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (11)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94347 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9318 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=772726 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1395609 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/lsh123/xmlsec/issues/43 x_refsource_MISCExploitPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/04/msg00004.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9318
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201711-01 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3739-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3739-2/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9318
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94347 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9318 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=772726 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1395609 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/lsh123/xmlsec/issues/43 | x_refsource_MISCExploitPatchThird Party Advisory | |
| https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/04/msg00004.html | mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9318 | ||
| https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201711-01 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory | |
| https://usn.ubuntu.com/3739-1/ | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory | |
| https://usn.ubuntu.com/3739-2/ | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9318 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.