CVE-2017-16931

parser.c in libxml2 before 2.9.5 mishandles parameter-entity references because the NEXTL macro calls the xmlParserHandlePEReference function in the case of a '%' character in a DTD name.

Published: 2017-11-23 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-16931 is rated High Risk (70.5/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.28%). 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-2017-16931

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 2026-07-02 4.45% 4.28% -0.17%
2 2026-06-15 1.44% 4.45% +3.01%
3 2026-05-27 — 1.44% —

Full EPSS history (53 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-16931

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-16931

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-16931

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2017-16931 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-2017-16931
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16931
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16931/
ubuntu medium CVE-2017-16931 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libxml2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (artful, trusty, upstream, xenial, zesty): not-affected 4, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-16931

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-16931

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
xmlsoft libxml2 <= 2.9.4 cpe:2.3:a:xmlsoft:libxml2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2017-16931

cvelogic Threat Intelligence