Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-51080

XXE

Published
17 July 2026
Modified
17 July 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0030 22th percentile
Risk Priority 70 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-51080 is a critical-severity Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611) vulnerability in Proxmox (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 22th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and CM-6 (Configuration Settings) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

libpvestorage-perl v9.1.1 and libpve-storage-perl v8.3.7 were discovered to contain an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Why these techniques?

XXE vulnerability (CWE-611) in storage library directly enables exploitation of the public-facing Proxmox VE application for initial access and local file disclosure.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-65482Shared CWE-611
CVE-2025-64518Shared CWE-611
CVE-2026-40991Shared CWE-611
CVE-2026-56817Shared CWE-611
CVE-2025-8355Shared CWE-611
CVE-2025-61823Shared CWE-611
CVE-2026-41895Shared CWE-611
CVE-2026-13449Shared CWE-611
CVE-2024-2374Shared CWE-611
CVE-2025-6438Shared CWE-611

Affected Assets

Proxmox
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • CM-6 Configuration Settings
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.5.1
  • V15.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly enforces validation and sanitization of untrusted XML input to block external entity declarations that enable the XXE attack in the affected Perl storage libraries.

prevent

Requires secure configuration of XML parsers (e.g., disabling external entities and DTDs) so the vulnerable libpve-storage code cannot process malicious XXE payloads.

prevent

Mandates timely patching or updating of the flawed libpvestorage-perl and libpve-storage-perl components to eliminate the XXE code path.

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.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened XML parser configurations directly disable external entity resolution.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include input validation and safe XML parser configuration that prevent XXE.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover XXE flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates XXE-vulnerable parser versions but is only one aspect of software maintenance.

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.

detects

Security testing in development catches XXE via static analysis and dynamic XML fuzzing.

detects

Vulnerability management identifies and patches XML libraries with unsafe default entity settings.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and entity handling that directly prevents XXE.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for disabling external entity processing in XML parsers.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include safe parser configuration that mitigates external entity risks.

prevents

Secure coding standards require disabling DTDs and external entities in XML processing.

References