CVE-2026-1757: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime in Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images
A flaw was identified in the interactive shell of the xmllint utility, part of the libxml2 project, where memory allocated for user input is not properly released under certain conditions. When a user submits input consisting only of whitespace, the program skips command execution but fails to free the allocated buffer. Repeating this action causes memory to continuously accumulate. Over time, this can exhaust system memory and terminate the xmllint process, creating a denial-of-service condition on the local system.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in the xmllint utility, part of the libxml2 project included in Red Hat Hardened Images, occurs because memory allocated for user input is not released when the input is only whitespace. Repeatedly submitting whitespace input causes memory to accumulate, eventually exhausting system memory and terminating the xmllint process, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.2 (medium severity) with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and impact limited to availability. Red Hat has published updated libxml2 packages (version 2.15.2-0.3.hum1) that include fixes for this issue.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability leads to a denial-of-service condition on the local system by exhausting memory through a memory leak in the xmllint interactive shell. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The process termination affects availability of the xmllint utility and potentially dependent services or scripts.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released updated libxml2 RPM packages that address this memory leak issue. Users of Red Hat Hardened Images should apply the libxml2 package updates (libxml2-16-2.15.2-0.3.hum1 and related packages) as provided in Red Hat Advisory RHSA-2026:7519. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory. No additional mitigation is indicated.
CVE-2026-1757: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime in Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images
Description
A flaw was identified in the interactive shell of the xmllint utility, part of the libxml2 project, where memory allocated for user input is not properly released under certain conditions. When a user submits input consisting only of whitespace, the program skips command execution but fails to free the allocated buffer. Repeating this action causes memory to continuously accumulate. Over time, this can exhaust system memory and terminate the xmllint process, creating a denial-of-service condition on the local system.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in the xmllint utility, part of the libxml2 project included in Red Hat Hardened Images, occurs because memory allocated for user input is not released when the input is only whitespace. Repeatedly submitting whitespace input causes memory to accumulate, eventually exhausting system memory and terminating the xmllint process, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.2 (medium severity) with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and impact limited to availability. Red Hat has published updated libxml2 packages (version 2.15.2-0.3.hum1) that include fixes for this issue.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability leads to a denial-of-service condition on the local system by exhausting memory through a memory leak in the xmllint interactive shell. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The process termination affects availability of the xmllint utility and potentially dependent services or scripts.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released updated libxml2 RPM packages that address this memory leak issue. Users of Red Hat Hardened Images should apply the libxml2 package updates (libxml2-16-2.15.2-0.3.hum1 and related packages) as provided in Red Hat Advisory RHSA-2026:7519. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory. No additional mitigation is indicated.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- redhat
- Date Reserved
- 2026-02-02T11:43:42.248Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:7519","vendor":"Red Hat"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-1757","vendor":"Red Hat"}]
Threat ID: 69809c55f9fa50a62f409541
Added to database: 2/2/2026, 12:45:09 PM
Last enriched: 4/24/2026, 3:54:22 PM
Last updated: 5/2/2026, 11:49:19 PM
Views: 291
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