CVE-2025-8732 libxml2 xmlcatalog xmlParseSGMLCatalog recursion
Local attackers can cause denial of service via uncontrolled recursion in libxml2's SGML catalog parser, though exploitation requires untrusted catalogs.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-8732?
CVE-2025-8732 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Ibm Aix, published on 8 Aug 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A vulnerability was found in libxml2 up to 2.14.5. It has been declared as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function xmlParseSGMLCatalog of the component xmlcatalog. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled recursion. Attacking locally is a requirement. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The real existence of this vulnerability is still doubted at the moment. The code maintainer explains, that "[t]he issue can only be triggered with untrusted SGML catalogs and it makes absolutely no sense to use untrusted catalogs. I also doubt that anyone is still using SGML catalogs at all."
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-8732?
It affects 4 products.
Products include Ibm Aix, Ibm Vios, Siemens Ruggedcom Rst2428p Firmware, Xmlsoft Libxml2.
How do I fix CVE-2025-8732?
No fix published yet.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2025-8732 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-8732 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Aix
Sources
Also known as AZL-66204, AZL-66224, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-8732, ECHO-7574-128e-f428, GHSA-vr42-4x2q-392x, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-8732.