# CVE-2022-40304: Use after free in n/a

> A double-free vulnerability in libxml2 allows attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code via crafted XML entity definitions.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 23 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2022-40304, AZL-11500, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-40304, ECHO-1e82-a71f-bf08, GHSA-g848-pppp-vg6f, JLSEC-2025-78, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-40304

## What is CVE-2022-40304?

CVE-2022-40304 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 23 Nov 2022. 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

An issue was discovered in libxml2 before 2.10.3. Certain invalid XML entity definitions can corrupt a hash table key, potentially leading to subsequent logic errors. In one case, a double-free can be provoked.

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-40304?

It affects 17 products.


Products: Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Macos, Apple Tvos, Apple Watchos, Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager, Netapp Clustered Data Ontap, Netapp Clustered Data Ontap Antivirus Connector, Netapp H300s Firmware, Netapp H410c Firmware, Netapp H410s Firmware, Netapp H500s Firmware, Netapp H700s Firmware, Netapp Manageability Software Development Kit, Netapp Smi-S Provider, Netapp Snapmanager, Xmlsoft Libxml2.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-40304?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2022-40304 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-40304 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados

- [CVE-2025-43300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-43300/): Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24201/): Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24085/): Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31200](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31200/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31201/): Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-40304 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-40304 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 23 Nov 2022. 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-2022-40304 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Ipados. 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-2022-40304/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40304/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-40304
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40304
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-40304

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40304/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.