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CVE-2018-20843· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

In libexpat in Expat before 2.2.7, XML input including XML names that contain a large number of colons could make the XML parser consume a h

In libexpat in Expat before 2.2.7, XML input including XML names that contain a large number of colons could make the XML parser consume a high amount of RAM and CPU resources while processing (enough to be usable for denial-of-service attacks).

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jun 24, 2019
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
7.1% · 94th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

32

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
2 / 30 · 7.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

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Affected systems

VendorProduct
libexpat projectlibexpat
canonicalubuntu linux
debiandebian linux
fedoraprojectfedora
opensuseleap
oraclehospitality res 3700
oraclehttp server
oracleoutside in technology
tenablenessus

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • canonical ubuntu linux12.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux14.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux16.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux18.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux18.10
  • canonical ubuntu linux19.04
  • debian debian linux8.0
  • debian debian linux9.0
  • fedoraproject fedora29
  • fedoraproject fedora30
  • libexpat project libexpatbefore 2.2.7
  • opensuse leap15.0
  • opensuse leap15.1
  • oracle hospitality res 37005.7 and later · up to 5.7.6 inclusive
  • oracle http server12.1.3.0
  • oracle http server12.2.1.4.0
  • oracle outside in technology8.5.4
  • oracle outside in technology8.5.5
  • tenable nessusbefore 8.15.0

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
AlmaLinux:8mingw32-expatbefore 2.2.4-5.el82.2.4-5.el8
AlmaLinux:8mingw64-expatbefore 2.2.4-5.el82.2.4-5.el8
Alpine:v3.10expatbefore 2.2.7-r02.2.7-r0
Debian:12expatbefore 2.2.6-22.2.6-2
Debian:12libxmltokall versions—
Debian:8expatbefore 2.1.0-6+deb8u52.1.0-6+deb8u5
Debian:9expatbefore 2.2.0-2+deb9u22.2.0-2+deb9u2
openSUSE:Leap 15.0expatbefore 2.2.5-lp151.3.3.12.2.5-lp151.3.3.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedexpatbefore 2.4.1-1.22.4.1-1.2
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::clientexpatbefore 0:2.1.0-12.el70:2.1.0-12.el7
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::clientexpat-debuginfobefore 0:2.1.0-12.el70:2.1.0-12.el7
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::clientexpat-develbefore 0:2.1.0-12.el70:2.1.0-12.el7
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::clientexpat-staticbefore 0:2.1.0-12.el70:2.1.0-12.el7
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseosexpatbefore 0:2.2.5-4.el80:2.2.5-4.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseosexpat-debuginfobefore 0:2.2.5-4.el80:2.2.5-4.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseosexpat-debugsourcebefore 0:2.2.5-4.el80:2.2.5-4.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseosexpat-develbefore 0:2.2.5-4.el80:2.2.5-4.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crbmingw-expatbefore 0:2.2.4-5.el80:2.2.4-5.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crbmingw32-expatbefore 0:2.2.4-5.el80:2.2.4-5.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crbmingw32-expat-debuginfobefore 0:2.2.4-5.el80:2.2.4-5.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crbmingw64-expatbefore 0:2.2.4-5.el80:2.2.4-5.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crbmingw64-expat-debuginfobefore 0:2.2.4-5.el80:2.2.4-5.el8
Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6jbcs-httpd24-curlbefore 0:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el60:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el6
Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6jbcs-httpd24-curl-debuginfobefore 0:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el60:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el6

+62

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-25236xmlparse.c in Expat (aka libexpat) before 2.4.5 allows attackers to insert namespace-separator characters into namespace URIs.
    49Plan
  • CVE-2022-25315In Expat (aka libexpat) before 2.4.5, there is an integer overflow in storeRawNames.
    40Plan
  • CVE-2022-25235xmltok_impl.c in Expat (aka libexpat) before 2.4.5 lacks certain validation of encoding, such as checks for whether a UTF-8 character is val
    40Plan
  • CVE-2022-23852Expat (aka libexpat) before 2.4.4 has a signed integer overflow in XML_GetBuffer, for configurations with a nonzero XML_CONTEXT_BYTES.
    40Plan
  • CVE-2022-22824defineAttribute in xmlparse.c in Expat (aka libexpat) before 2.4.3 has an integer overflow.
    40Plan
  • CVE-2022-22823build_model in xmlparse.c in Expat (aka libexpat) before 2.4.3 has an integer overflow.
    40Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
almalinux:mingw32-expat2.2.4-5.el8 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:mingw64-expat2.2.4-5.el8 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
alpine:expat2.2.7-r0 · Alpine:v3.10Package registry (OSV)
debian:expat2.2.6-2 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:expat2.2.5-lp151.3.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.0Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-curl0:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-curl-debuginfo0:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-httpd0:2.4.37-57.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-httpd-debuginfo0:2.4.37-57.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-httpd-devel0:2.4.37-57.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-httpd-manual0:2.4.37-57.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-httpd-selinux0:2.4.37-57.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-httpd-tools0:2.4.37-57.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-libcurl0:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-libcurl-devel0:7.64.1-36.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-mod_cluster-native0:1.3.14-4.Final_redhat_2.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:jbcs-httpd24-mod_cluster-native-debuginfo0:1.3.14-4.Final_redhat_2.jbcs.el6 · Red Hat:jboss_core_services:1::el6Package registry (OSV)
rocky linux:expat0:2.2.5-4.el8 · Rocky Linux:8Package registry (OSV)
suse:expat2.1.0-21.6.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

All records