HighCVE-2026-42536

    Apache HTTP Server: mod_xml2enc heap overflow (CVE-2026-42536)

    Published Last modified Sources: SUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian LTS, Msrc Update Guide, OSV, CVE.org, BSI

    What is affected, what to do

    A flaw was found in Apache HTTP Server, specifically within the mod_xml2enc module. This heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability can be triggered when processing untrusted content through the xml2StartParse function.

    An exploit is publicly available. Update http_server to version 2.4.68, QRadar SIEM to version 7.6.0.3.

    Affected
    • Apache HTTP Server lte 2.4.0..2.4.67

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    7.5

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    7.5

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: SUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian LTS, Msrc Update Guide, OSV, CVE.org, BSI

    1.0 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 63.3

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    88.27 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    PoC (publicly reported)
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    7.5 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.5
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    1.0 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    63.3
    High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-122

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    A flaw was found in Apache HTTP Server, specifically within the mod_xml2enc module. This heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability can be triggered when processing untrusted content through the xml2StartParse function. A remote attacker could potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service, information disclosure, or possibly arbitrary code execution.

    Source: suse_csaf, redhat_csaf, Ubuntu Security Notices, Debian LTS Advisories, Microsoft Security Update Guide, OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities), NVD (NIST), CVE.org (MITRE), cvelistv5, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    Apache Software FoundationApache HTTP Server
    • 2.4.0 – ≤ 2.4.67
    • —
    apachehttp_server
    • 2.4.0 – < 2.4.68
    • 2.4.68
    IBMQRadar SIEM
    • < 7.6.0.3
    • <7.5.0 UP16 IF01
    • 7.6.0.3
    • —
    OracleSolaris
    • <11.3 ESU 36.36
    • <11.4 SRU 94
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianapache2bullseye

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow

      Variant

      A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().

      Entry at MITRE CWE-122

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec)CVE-2026-42536-PoC (opens in a new tab)github.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67152

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    2. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/42xxx/CVE-2026-42536.json">CVE-2026-42536</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:66323

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    3. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53371
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (+5)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (+6)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    4. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (+4)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (+5)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    5. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:47046
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (+3)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (+4)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    Show 5 older changes

    1. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:42828
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Hardened Images, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (+3)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (+3)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    2. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:41906

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    3. Record modifiedCVE Program

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/06/08/9

      Source identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    4. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    5. ReceivedApache

      Weakness type: CWE-122

      Description added or changed

      Show 3 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Apache HTTP Server with mod_xml2enc, xml2StartParse, and untrusted content This issue affects Apache HTTP Server: from 2.4.0 through 2.4.67. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.4.68, which fixes the issue.
      Weakness type (CWE)added
      —
      CWE-122
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://httpd.apache.org/security/vulnerabilities_24.html

      Source identifier: security@apache.org

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    Linked advisories

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