# CVE-2017-5969: Null dereference in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause denial of service via crafted XML when libxml2 is used in recover mode, a non-default configuration.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Apr 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-5969, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-5969, ECHO-eaa2-2f6c-b643, GHSA-fh2x-v9fw-7v49, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-5969

## What is CVE-2017-5969?

CVE-2017-5969 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Xmlsoft Libxml2, published on 11 Apr 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

libxml2 2.9.4, when used in recover mode, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via a crafted XML document.  NOTE: The maintainer states "I would disagree of a CVE with the Recover parsing option which should only be used for manual recovery at least for XML parser.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-5969?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Xmlsoft Libxml2.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-5969?

No fix published yet.

## Is CVE-2017-5969 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5969 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Xmlsoft Libxml2

- [CVE-2017-16931](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16931/): XML external entity in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-8872](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8872/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-49043](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49043/): Use after free in libxml2 (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-86140](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86140/): Memory corruption in libxml2 (high 8.0)
- [CVE-2024-34459](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-34459/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-5969 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-5969 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Xmlsoft Libxml2, published on 11 Apr 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5969 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Xmlsoft Libxml2. 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-2017-5969/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5969/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-5969
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5969
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-5969

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5969/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.