parser.c in libxml2 before 2.9.2 does not properly prevent entity expansion even when entity substitution has been disabled, which allows…

Description

parser.c in libxml2 before 2.9.2 does not properly prevent entity expansion even when entity substitution has been disabled, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document containing a large number of nested entity references, a variant of the "billion laughs" attack.

Scores

EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)

3.8% · top 10% of all CVEs (4 Nov 2026)

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.0.

Weakness

• n/a

Affected products

• n/a

  • affected n/a

References (23)

• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/ovmbulletinjul2016-3090546.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• 59903 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
• https://www.ncsc.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/kwetsbaarheid-ontdekt-in-libxml2.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• DSA-3057 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANx_transferred
• https://support.apple.com/kb/HT205030 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• 70644 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
• openSUSE-SU-2014:1330 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEx_transferred
• https://bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=944444&action=diff (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• 61966 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
• 61965 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
• USN-2389-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
• APPLE-SA-2015-08-13-2 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_APPLEx_transferred
• APPLE-SA-2015-08-13-3 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_APPLEx_transferred
• [oss-security] 20141017 libxml2 issue: billioun laughs variant (CVE-2014-3660) (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
• MDVSA-2014:244 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVAx_transferred
• RHSA-2014:1655 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
• RHSA-2014:1885 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
• https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1149084 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinjan2015-2370101.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• 61991 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
• http://kb.juniper.net/InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=JSA10705 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• openSUSE-SU-2015:2372 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEx_transferred
• https://support.apple.com/kb/HT205031 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

• CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
• CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
• NVD (opens in a new tab)
• FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
• OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
• GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
• CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)

Badge for a README or a ticket

[![CVE-2014-3660](https://trackcve.app/badge/CVE-2014-3660.svg)](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2014-3660)

Record last updated 6 Aug 2024, 10:50 UTC.