How severe is CVE-2026-74860?

CVE-2026-74860 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-74860 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (36th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2026-74860?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2026-74860 published?

CVE-2026-74860 was published on 2026-09-08 and last updated on 2026-10-06.

CVE-2026-74860

CVE-2026-74860 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-763.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (36th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-763
Published: 2026-09-08
Last modified: 2026-10-06

Description

A flaw was found in libxml2 with Python bindings enabled. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing a specially crafted XML document containing a Document Type Definition (DTD) with enumerated attribute values. This triggers a double-free error in the SAX attributeDecl callback handler, where a string is freed twice. This flaw can lead to a denial of service (DoS) due to a reproducible crash in Python applications using the libxml2 SAX bindings.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-74860?: A flaw was found in libxml2 with Python bindings enabled. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing a specially crafted XML document containing a Document Type Definition (DTD) with enumerated attribute values. This triggers a double-free error in the SAX attributeDecl callback handler, where a string is freed twice. This flaw can lead to a denial of service (DoS) due to a reproducible crash in Python applications using the libxml2 SAX bindings.
How severe is CVE-2026-74860?: CVE-2026-74860 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-74860 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (36th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-74860?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2026-74860 published?: CVE-2026-74860 was published on 2026-09-08 and last updated on 2026-10-06.

References

Other CWE-763 vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-14233 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Invalid free in CPCA file deletion processing on Small Office Multifunction Printers and Laser Printers(*) which may…
CVE-2024-44852 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Open Robotics Robotic Operating System 2 ROS2 navigation2 v.humble was discovered to contain a segmentation violation…
CVE-2021-42377 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An attacker-controlled pointer free in Busybox's hush applet leads to denial of service and possible code execution…
CVE-2021-30473 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): aom_image.c in libaom in AOMedia before 2021-04-07 frees memory that is not located on the heap.
CVE-2021-24028 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An invalid free in Thrift's table-based serialization can cause the application to crash or potentially result in code…
CVE-2020-0103 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In a2dp_aac_decoder_cleanup of a2dp_aac_decoder.cc, there is a possible invalid free due to memory corruption. This…

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