CVE-2026-22186: Open Microscopy Environment Bio-Formats · XML External Entity (XXE)
Affects Open Microscopy Environment Bio-FormatsSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.6 Medium.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Open Microscopy EnvironmentBio-Formats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
GitHubome/bioformatspkg:github/ome/bioformatsOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
Until an official fix is available, avoid processing untrusted Leica XML metadata files with vulnerable Bio-Formats versions. Monitor vendor communications for updates on patches or mitigations.
Description
Bio-Formats versions up to and including 8.3.0 contain an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in the Leica Microsystems metadata parsing component (e.g., XLEF). The parser uses an insecurely configured DocumentBuilderFactory when processing Leica XML-based metadata files, allowing external entity expansion and external DTD loading. A crafted metadata file can trigger outbound network requests (SSRF), access local system resources where readable, or cause a denial of service during XML parsing.