# CVE-2023-39615: Denial of service in n/a > Attackers can cause a denial of service in Libxml2 by supplying a crafted XML file, affecting applications using the library. - **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 29 Aug 2023 - **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** ALSA-2023:7747, ALSA-2024:0119, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-39615, ECHO-b629-387c-838e, GHSA-9fj4-8443-vg2m, JLSEC-2025-81, MGASA-2023-0279, RHSA-2023:7544, RHSA-2023:7747, RHSA-2024:0119, RLSA-2024:0119, SUSE-SU-2023:3666-1, SUSE-SU-2023:3666-2, SUSE-SU-2023:3698-1, SUSE-SU-2023:3699-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:13192-1 ## What is CVE-2023-39615? CVE-2023-39615 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Xmlsoft Libxml2, published on 29 Aug 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description Xmlsoft Libxml2 v2.11.0 was discovered to contain an out-of-bounds read via the xmlSAX2StartElement() function at /libxml2/SAX2.c. This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via supplying a crafted XML file. NOTE: the vendor's position is that the product does not support the legacy SAX1 interface with custom callbacks; there is a crash even without crafted input. Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-39615? It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `libxml2` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2-devel` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `python3-libxml2` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-devel` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `python3-libxml2` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `python3-libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `python3-libxml2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `python3-libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `python3-libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `python3-libxml2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `python3-libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.13-5.el9_3 | | `libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `libxml2-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `libxml2-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `python3-libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::appstream | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `libxml2` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `libxml2-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `python3-libxml2` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `python3-libxml2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.9.7-16.el8_8.2 | | `libxml2` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8 | | `libxml2` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:2.9.7-18.el8_9 | | `libxml2` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 2.9.7-150000.3.60.1 | | `python-libxml2-python` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 2.9.7-150000.3.60.1 | | `libxml2` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 2.9.7-150000.3.60.1 | | `python-libxml2-python` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 2.9.7-150000.3.60.1 | | `libxml2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 2.9.7-150000.3.60.1 | Products: Xmlsoft Libxml2. ## How do I fix CVE-2023-39615? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2023-39615 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-39615 exists. ## 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-2023-39615 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2023-39615 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Xmlsoft Libxml2, published on 29 Aug 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-39615 exists. 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-2023-39615/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39615/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39615 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39615 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-39615 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39615/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.