libexpat Heap Buffer Over-read in xmlparse.c via XML_ParseBuffer
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-77214 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | VulnCheck |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-07 15:17:53 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-10 03:17:08 UTC |
| Description | libexpat before commit 13c5f63 contains a heap buffer over-read vulnerability in xmlparse.c. XML_ParseBuffer advances the parse buffer end with parser->m_bufferEnd += len using a caller-supplied length that is not validated against the allocated buffer size, so repeated XML_ParseBuffer calls move m_bufferEnd past the end of the heap allocation and subsequent parsing reads out of bounds. Reaching this path requires a parse buffer to already be present; otherwise XML_ParseBuffer returns XML_ERROR_NO_BUFFER. A buffer is present after a prior call to XML_GetBuffer, either directly (the common case) or indirectly through a prior XML_Parse call that allocates the buffer internally. The over-read discloses adjacent heap memory to the calling application, recovering heap pointers, libc function pointers, and code pointers sufficient to defeat ASLR and build further exploitation primitives. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 8.3 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS: 0.005490000 probability, percentile 0.443290000 (date 2026-10-11)
Problem Types: CWE-125 | CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.3 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 8.3 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.2 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 8.2 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowAttack Requirements
PresentPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
NoneAvailability
LowSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
NoneAvailability
LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/libexpat/libexpat/pull/1393 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/libexpat/libexpat/commit/13c5f63a7f1c52c2feee3b16a1134d4fb68e... | [email protected] | github.com | |
| www.vulncheck.com/advisories/libexpat-heap-buffer-over-read-in-xmlparse-c-via-x... | [email protected] | www.vulncheck.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Fabian Wahle (Hap Security) (en)
CNA: Filippo Tedeschi (en)
CNA: VulnCheck (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.