Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-52426 is an availability risk in libexpat, a common XML parsing library. Certain builds through 2.5.0 can mishandle recursive XML entity expansion and consume excessive resources. The published score is medium, with no cited evidence of active exploitation or KEV listing.
Executive priority
Handle through normal vulnerability management, with higher priority for multi-user systems and critical services parsing XML locally. There is no source-supported evidence for emergency response, but denial-of-service risk can affect service availability.
Technical view
The issue maps to CWE-776: improper restriction of recursive entity references in DTDs. It applies when libexpat is compiled with XML_DTD undefined. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where software embeds or packages libexpat through 2.5.0 and parses XML in the affected compile-time configuration. The source bundle does not identify specific CPEs or a complete affected product list.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector indicates local access with low privileges is required. Sources do not support remote exploitation, confidentiality impact, integrity impact, public exploit availability, or active exploitation. Treat this primarily as a local denial-of-service condition.
Researcher notes
The key constraint is the compile-time condition, not just the library name. Validate build configuration before declaring exposure. The public record references upstream PR 777 and commit 0f075ec8 as the fix context.
Mitigation direction
- Apply vendor or distribution updates that incorporate the libexpat fix.
- Check libexpat upstream guidance and downstream advisories before choosing a target version.
- Prioritize systems where local users can submit XML to privileged or critical services.
- Track NetApp and Fedora advisories if those environments are in use.
Validation and detection
- Inventory direct and bundled libexpat versions across hosts, containers, and appliances.
- Confirm whether libexpat was built with XML_DTD undefined.
- Review XML parsing paths that accept input from local users or tenants.
- Verify vendor packages include the referenced upstream fix or equivalent backport.
- Document any affected systems awaiting vendor remediation.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-776: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-52426 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/libexpat/libexpat/pull/777CVE reference
- https://github.com/libexpat/libexpat/commit/0f075ec8ecb5e43f8fdca5182f8cca4703da0404CVE reference
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/776.htmlCVE reference
- FEDORA-2024-fbe1f0c1aaCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2024-b8656bc059CVE reference · vendor-advisory
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240307-0005/CVE reference
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PNRIHC7DVVRAIWFRGV23Y6UZXFBXSQDB/CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')
Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.