---
id: CVE-2026-76781
title: A flaw was found in libxml2
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in libxml2. A local user or an attacker providing a specially
  crafted XML catalog can trigger a NULL pointer dereference during XML catalog
  parsing. This occurs when a `nextCatalog` element lacks its mandatory
  `catalog` …
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: Red Hat
product: libxml2-main
affected:
  - libxml2-main (all versions)
  - libxml2
  - podman (all versions)
  - libxml2
  - libxml2
  - 'container-tools:rhel8/podman (all versions)'
  - libxml2 (all versions)
  - podman (all versions)
  - libxml2
  - podman (all versions)
  - swift-lang
  - openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8 (all versions)
  - openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 (all versions)
  - podman (all versions)
patched:
  - hardened_images
published: '2026-09-17'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T12:17:12.793'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-76781'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:57604'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-76781'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2519776'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/commit/c6324894'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/merge_requests/442'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-76781.json
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-76781'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-76781'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-09-17T17:10:17.266721Z'
epss: 0.00167
epssPercentile: 0.05282
ingestedAt: '2026-09-17T16:21:47.710Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in libxml2. A local user or an attacker providing a specially crafted XML catalog can trigger a NULL pointer dereference during XML catalog parsing. This occurs when a `nextCatalog` element lacks its mandatory `catalog` attribute, leading to the application crashing and causing a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Remediation

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

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, … · updated 2026-09-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-76781.json)
- **RHSA-2026:57604** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Hardened Images · released 2026-08-20 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:57604)