# CVE-2016-9597: Denial of service in libxml2

> A regression in the libxml2 library fix allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service via stack overflow, affecting Red Hat JBoss Core Services.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-94gc-v83r-7m7w

## What is CVE-2016-9597?

CVE-2016-9597 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 30 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

It was found that Red Hat JBoss Core Services erratum RHSA-2016:2957 for CVE-2016-3705 did not actually include the fix for the issue found in libxml2, making it vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack due to a Stack Overflow. This is a regression CVE for the same issue as CVE-2016-3705.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer), CWE-674 (Uncontrolled Recursion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9597?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Hp Icewall Federation Agent, Hp Icewall File Manager, Opensuse Leap, Xmlsoft Libxml2.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9597?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-9597 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9597 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9597 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9597 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 30 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9597 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9597/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9597/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9597
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9597
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9597

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9597/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.