Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-1757 is a memory leak in xmllint, a utility included with libxml2. A local user can cause xmllint’s interactive shell to consume memory until the process fails. The direct business impact appears limited to local denial of service for that utility, not remote compromise or data theft.
Executive priority
Handle through normal vulnerability management with moderate priority. This is not supported as remotely exploitable or actively exploited in the provided sources. Prioritize shared systems, containers, and environments where local users or jobs can run xmllint and where process-level denial of service could disrupt operations.
Technical view
The flaw is CWE-401: memory allocated for user input in xmllint’s interactive shell is not freed when whitespace-only input is submitted. Repetition can exhaust memory and terminate xmllint. Red Hat rates the issue medium with CVSS 3.1 score 6.2, vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant where affected Red Hat libxml2 packages are installed and xmllint is available to local users or automation. The bundle lists affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9, 10, OpenShift Container Platform 4, JBoss Core Services, and Red Hat Hardened Images. RHEL 6 status is unknown.
Exploitation context
Sources describe a local denial-of-service condition against xmllint. The CVSS vector is local, and no source in the bundle indicates active exploitation. The issue does not indicate confidentiality or integrity impact. Practical risk depends on whether xmllint interactive shell is used by local users, scripts, containers, or operational workflows.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strongest for a local xmllint interactive shell memory leak in libxml2. The affected list is Red Hat-focused, and upstream GNOME/libxml2 tracking is referenced. Do not generalize affected distributions beyond the provided sources. Patch details should be taken from Red Hat advisory and upstream issue tracking.
Mitigation direction
- Review Red Hat advisory RHSA-2026:7519 for available updates and applicability.
- Update affected libxml2 packages following vendor guidance.
- Restrict unnecessary local access to xmllint where updates cannot be applied promptly.
- Assess container images and OpenShift nodes for affected libxml2 or rhcos content.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems for Red Hat libxml2, libxml2-main, or rhcos packages.
- Check installed package versions against Red Hat CVE and RHSA guidance.
- Identify workflows that expose xmllint interactive shell to local users or automation.
- Confirm remediation through approved package management or image rebuild records.
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-401: 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 lookupContainer behavior lookup
The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-1757 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
- 6.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.53.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.2MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2026:7519CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-1757CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2435940CVE reference · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/issues/1009CVE 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.
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.