Uncontrolled Recursion Affecting libxml2 package, versions <2.9.10+dfsg-5ubuntu0.20.04.10+esm4


Severity

Recommended
medium

Based on Ubuntu security rating.

Threat Intelligence

EPSS
0.02% (6th percentile)

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  • Snyk IDSNYK-UBUNTU2004-LIBXML2-15028402
  • published27 Jan 2026
  • disclosed15 Jan 2026

Introduced: 15 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-0989  (opens in a new tab)
CWE-674  (opens in a new tab)

How to fix?

Upgrade Ubuntu:20.04 libxml2 to version 2.9.10+dfsg-5ubuntu0.20.04.10+esm4 or higher.

NVD Description

Note: Versions mentioned in the description apply only to the upstream libxml2 package and not the libxml2 package as distributed by Ubuntu. See How to fix? for Ubuntu:20.04 relevant fixed versions and status.

A flaw was identified in the RelaxNG parser of libxml2 related to how external schema inclusions are handled. The parser does not enforce a limit on inclusion depth when resolving nested <include> directives. Specially crafted or overly complex schemas can cause excessive recursion during parsing. This may lead to stack exhaustion and application crashes, creating a denial-of-service risk.

CVSS Base Scores

version 3.1