CVE-2015-8241

The xmlNextChar function in libxml2 2.9.2 does not properly check the state, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer over-read and application crash) or obtain sensitive information via crafted XML data.

Published: 2015-12-15 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2015-8241 is rated Moderate Risk (63.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 6.72%, 93th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +5.88% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2015-8241

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.84% 6.72% +5.88%
2 2026-05-13 1.00% 0.84% -0.16%
3 2026-03-25 1.00%

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2015-8241

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2015-8241

OS Trackers for CVE-2015-8241

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2015-8241 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libxml2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2015-8241
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-8241
suse medium CVE-2015-8241 severity moderate: SUSE including 291 source package names (amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20210304-hvm-ssd-x86_64, amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20220127-hvm-ssd-x86_64, …), 437 product×package rows across 57 product lines (HPE Helion OpenStack 8, SUSE Liberty Linux 7, … (57 product lines)): Known Affected 231, Fixed 133, Known Not Affected 73. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-8241/
ubuntu low CVE-2015-8241 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libxml2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, vivid, wily): released 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2015-8241

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2015-8241

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
debian debian_linux 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_hpc_node 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_hpc_node:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_workstation 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
hp icewall_federation_agent 3.0 cpe:2.3:a:hp:icewall_federation_agent:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
hp icewall_file_manager 3.0 cpe:2.3:a:hp:icewall_file_manager:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 12.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 14.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 15.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:15.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 15.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:15.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
xmlsoft libxml2 <= 2.9.2 cpe:2.3:a:xmlsoft:libxml2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2015-8241

URL Tags
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-12/msg00120.html
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-01/msg00031.html
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=145382616617563&w=2 Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2549.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2550.html Third Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-1089.html
http://www.debian.org/security/2015/dsa-3430 Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/11/17/5
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/11/18/23
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinjan2016-2867206.html
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinoct2015-2719645.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/77621
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034243
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2834-1 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=756263 Issue Tracking
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1281936 Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://git.gnome.org/browse/libxml2/commit/?id=ab2b9a93ff19cedde7befbf2fcc48c6e352b6cbe
https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c04944172 Third Party Advisory
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