---
id: CVE-2017-9048
title: >-
  libxml2 20904-GITv2.9.4-16-g0741801 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer
  overflow
summary: >-
  libxml2 20904-GITv2.9.4-16-g0741801 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer
  overflow. The function xmlSnprintfElementContent in valid.c is supposed to
  recursively dump the element content definition into a char buffer 'buf' of
  size 'size'.…
severity: high
cvss: 7.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-119
  - CWE-119
vendor: xmlsoft
product: libxml2
affected:
  - libxml2 = 2.9.4
published: '2017-05-18'
updated: '2026-10-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-14T07:16:40.950'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9048'
references:
  - url: 'http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3952'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/05/15/1'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98556'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: >-
      https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e698b9d696b%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: >-
      https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450893651e4%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201711-01'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3952'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/05/15/1'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98556'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e698b9d696b%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450893651e4%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201711-01'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.04848
epssPercentile: 0.91837
ingestedAt: '2026-10-14T07:21:04.796Z'
---

## Overview

libxml2 20904-GITv2.9.4-16-g0741801 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow. The function xmlSnprintfElementContent in valid.c is supposed to recursively dump the element content definition into a char buffer 'buf' of size 'size'. At the end of the routine, the function may strcat two more characters without checking whether the current strlen(buf) + 2 < size. This vulnerability causes programs that use libxml2, such as PHP, to crash.

## Affected

- `libxml2 = 2.9.4`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.