CVE-2025-27113
Memory Safety in Xmlsoft Libxml2 ≤ 2.12.10
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:LSummary
CVE-2025-27113 is a low-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Xmlsoft Libxml2. Its CVSS base score is 2.9 (Low).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked in the top 40% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2025-27113 is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the xmlPatMatch function within pattern.c of the libxml2 library. It affects libxml2 versions before 2.12.10 as well as 2.13.x versions before 2.13.6. The vulnerability, classified under CWE-476, was published on 2025-02-18 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 2.9.
A local attacker (AV:L) with no privileges (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N) required can exploit this issue through a high-complexity attack (AC:H) within unchanged scope (S:U). Successful exploitation results in limited availability impact (A:L) via a crash or denial of service, with no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N/I:N).
Advisories recommend upgrading to libxml2 2.12.10 or later for the 2.12 series, or 2.13.6 or later for the 2.13 series to mitigate the issue. Further technical details are documented in the libxml2 GitLab issue at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/issues/861, along with full disclosure reports at http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/10, http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/11, http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/12, and http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/13.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-4763
Vulnerability Data
libxml2 before 2.12.10 and 2.13.x before 2.13.6 has a NULL pointer dereference in xmlPatMatch in pattern.c.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation (including static analysis) directly finds null-dereference bugs before deployment.
Documented development standards and tools can enforce null-safety rules and safe pointer usage.
Engineering principles can mandate defensive coding such as explicit null checks before dereference.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.
Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.
Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.
Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.
Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.