Red Hat Security Advisory: expat security update
Expat is a C library for parsing XML documents. Security Fix(es): * libexpat: denial of service via crafted XML input (CVE-2026-45186) For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The libexpat XML parsing library versions prior to 2.8.1 contain an inefficient algorithmic complexity issue in the attribute name collision checking mechanism. This flaw allows an attacker to cause a denial of service by submitting moderately sized crafted XML input that triggers excessive computational resource consumption. Red Hat has released updated expat packages (version 2.7.3-1.el10_2.1) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 across multiple architectures to fix this vulnerability. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 2.9, reflecting a low severity denial of service via local attack with high attack complexity and no privileges required.
Potential Impact
An attacker with local access can cause a denial of service by exploiting inefficient attribute name collision checks in libexpat, leading to excessive CPU usage and potential application or system unavailability. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The vulnerability is rated low severity with a CVSS score of 2.9.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released updated expat packages that fix this vulnerability. Users of affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 versions should apply the security update expat-2.7.3-1.el10_2.1 or later as provided in advisory RHSA-2026:22715. For detailed update instructions, refer to https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official patch.
Red Hat Security Advisory: expat security update
Description
Expat is a C library for parsing XML documents. Security Fix(es): * libexpat: denial of service via crafted XML input (CVE-2026-45186) For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.
CVSS v3.1
Score 2.9low
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The libexpat XML parsing library versions prior to 2.8.1 contain an inefficient algorithmic complexity issue in the attribute name collision checking mechanism. This flaw allows an attacker to cause a denial of service by submitting moderately sized crafted XML input that triggers excessive computational resource consumption. Red Hat has released updated expat packages (version 2.7.3-1.el10_2.1) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 across multiple architectures to fix this vulnerability. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 2.9, reflecting a low severity denial of service via local attack with high attack complexity and no privileges required.
Potential Impact
An attacker with local access can cause a denial of service by exploiting inefficient attribute name collision checks in libexpat, leading to excessive CPU usage and potential application or system unavailability. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The vulnerability is rated low severity with a CVSS score of 2.9.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released updated expat packages that fix this vulnerability. Users of affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 versions should apply the security update expat-2.7.3-1.el10_2.1 or later as provided in advisory RHSA-2026:22715. For detailed update instructions, refer to https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official patch.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Csaf Category
- csaf_security_advisory
- Csaf Version
- 2.0
- Publisher
- Red Hat Product Security
- Advisory Id
- RHSA-2026:22721
- Cve Count
- 1
- Additional Cves
- []
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
Threat ID: 6a209828e29bf47b50ebccec
Added to database: 06/03/2026, 21:10:00 UTC
Last enriched: 07/15/2026, 15:39:24 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:22:59 UTC
Views: 145
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