CVE-2024-23807 | Apache Xerces C++: Use-after-free on external DTD scan

Exp

The Apache Xerces C++ XML parser on versions 3.0.0 before 3.2.5 contains a use-after-free error triggered during the scanning of external DTDs. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.5 which fixes the issue, or mitigate the issue by disabling DTD processing. This can be accomplished via the DOM using a standard parser feature, or via SAX using the XERCES_DISABLE_DTD environment variable. This issue has been disclosed before as CVE-2018-1311, but unfortunately that advisory incorrectly stated the issue would be fixed in version 3.2.3 or 3.2.4.

Published: 2024-02-28 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-23807 is rated High Exploit Risk (79.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.49%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2024-23807

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-23807

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 0.50% 1.49% +1.00%
2 2026-01-22 0.40% 0.50% +0.10%
3 2025-12-11 — 0.40% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-23807

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/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]
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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.
 2.2 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-23807

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-23807

vendor priority summary link
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-23807
suse high CVE-2024-23807 severity important: SUSE including 5 source package names (libxerces-c-3_1, libxerces-c-3_1-32bit, libxerces-c-3_2, libxerces-c-devel, xerces-c), 80 product×package rows across 27 product lines (SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5, … (27 product lines)): Known Not Affected 80. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-23807/
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-23807 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (xerces-c), 11 status rows across 11 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 6, ignored 3, not-affected 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-23807

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-23807

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache xerces-c\+\+ >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:xerces-c\+\+:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-23807

URL Tags
https://github.com/apache/xerces-c/pull/54 Exploit Patch Third Party Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread/c497tgn864tsbm8w0bo3f0d81s07zk9r Mailing List Patch Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence