CVE-2024-40896VulnerabilityPublished 13 May 2025Updated 21 Oct 2026

Red Hat Bug Fix Advisory: libxml2 bug fix and enhancement update

Affects Red HatSource GCVE Database

Mentioned vulnerabilities

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

Severity

Low

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

EPSS: 1.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 68% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 May 2025
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 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red Hatredhat/libxml2`pkg:rpm/redhat/libxml2`Other threats	Affected =10 =10.0 =10.2	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

Red Hat has released updated libxml2 packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 and its variants. Users should apply these official updates as described in the Red Hat advisory RHBA-2025:6597 and the linked Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Release Notes. The vendor provides detailed instructions for applying the update at https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258. Applying these updates will remediate the vulnerabilities. No additional mitigation steps are indicated by the vendor.

Description

This bugfix update provides a functional equivalent of RHBA-2025:6597. The original Red Hat(R) advisory is available from the Red Hat web site at https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2025:6597.

Impact

The vulnerabilities fixed in this advisory could allow an attacker to cause memory corruption or execute arbitrary code due to issues such as use-after-free and buffer overflow, or to exploit XML external entity injection flaws. These issues pose a critical risk to affected systems running vulnerable versions of libxml2 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. However, there are no reports of active exploitation in the wild currently.

Summary

Red Hat Product Security has released a bug fix advisory RHBA-2025:6597 for libxml2 in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. This advisory addresses three CVEs: CVE-2024-40896, CVE-2024-56171, and CVE-2025-24928, which correspond to vulnerabilities involving XML external entity injection, use-after-free, and stack-based buffer overflow issues. The update is available for multiple architectures and variants of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, including Extended Update Support and CodeReady Linux Builder editions. Detailed changes are documented in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Release Notes. The advisory does not provide a CVSS score but classifies the severity as critical. No known exploits in the wild have been reported at this time.

CWE-611Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.
Implementation · System Configuration
Many XML parsers and validators can be configured to disable external entity expansion.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Data Serialization External Entities Blowup (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-121Stack-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #14
A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function).
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Implementation
Implement and perform bounds checking on input.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Aug 2026, 16:59 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611, CWE-416, CWE-121

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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