{"id":"CVE-2016-4472","title":"The overflow protection in Expat is removed by compilers with certain optimization settings, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via crafted XML data","summary":"The overflow protection in Expat is removed by compilers with certain optimization settings, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via crafted XML data.  NOTE: this vulnerab…","severity":"high","cvss":8.1,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cwe":["CWE-119"],"vendor":"libexpat_project","product":"libexpat","affected":["libexpat <= 2.1.1","ubuntu_linux = 12.04","policy_auditor < 6.5.1","python >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.15","python >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.7","python >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.7","python >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.4","python >= 3.6.0, < 3.6.2"],"patched":["policy_auditor 6.5.1","python 3.6.2"],"published":"2016-06-30","updated":"2026-10-08","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-08T21:17:05.260","source":"NVD","sourceUrl":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4472","references":[{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91528","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3013-1","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1344251","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10365","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-21","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://sourceforge.net/p/expat/code_git/ci/f0bec73b018caa07d3e75ec8dd967f3785d71bde","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2016-20","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91528","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3013-1","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1344251","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10365","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-21","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://sourceforge.net/p/expat/code_git/ci/f0bec73b018caa07d3e75ec8dd967f3785d71bde","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2016-20","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"tags":["nvd"],"epss":0.11946,"epssPercentile":0.96033,"ingestedAt":"2026-10-08T22:11:53.690Z","slug":"CVE-2016-4472","body":"## Overview\n\nThe overflow protection in Expat is removed by compilers with certain optimization settings, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via crafted XML data.  NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2015-1283 and CVE-2015-2716.\n\n## Affected\n\n- `libexpat <= 2.1.1`\n- `ubuntu_linux = 12.04`\n- `policy_auditor < 6.5.1`\n- `python >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.15`\n- `python >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.7`\n- `python >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.7`\n- `python >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.4`\n- `python >= 3.6.0, < 3.6.2`\n\n## Remediation\n\nUpgrade past the affected range:\n\n- `policy_auditor 6.5.1`\n- `python 3.6.2`","depth":"twilight","depthScore":47,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":44.6,"likelihood":2.4,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}