BlackTreeCVE Intelligence
← Back to the CVE catalogue
Full vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-12993High confidence

Apicurio/apicurio-registry: apicurio-registry: xml entity-expansion denial of service via internal dtd subset

Red Hat · Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 3.3.1

6.5MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Scheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Patch available
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
CVE-2026-12993 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product SecurityApicurio/apicurio-registry: apicurio-registry: XML entity-expansion denial of service via internal DTD subset
1 fixed

The vendor explicitly identifies these products or versions as containing the fix.

  • Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 3.3.1
Summary
A flaw was found in Apicurio Registry. The DocumentBuilderAccessor correctly blocks external DTD and schema access but does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING. An attacker with artifact-write permission can upload XML documents with internal entity-expansion payloads (billion-laughs variant) that cause CPU and heap exhaustion, partially mitigated by the JAXP default 64,000 entity-expansion limit.
Remediation
Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2026-39593

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

A flaw was found in Apicurio Registry. The DocumentBuilderAccessor correctly blocks external DTD and schema access but does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING. An attacker with artifact-write permission can upload XML documents with internal entity-expansion payloads (billion-laughs variant) that cause CPU and heap exhaustion, partially mitigated by the JAXP default 64,000 entity-expansion limit.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
6.5 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

A flaw was found in Apicurio Registry. The DocumentBuilderAccessor correctly blocks external DTD and schema access but does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING. An attacker with artifact-write permission can upload XML documents with internal entity-expansion payloads (billion-laughs variant) that cause CPU and heap exhaustion, partially mitigated by the JAXP default 64,000 entity-expansion limit.

What

A flaw was found in Apicurio Registry. The DocumentBuilderAccessor correctly blocks external DTD and schema access but does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING. An attacker with artifact-write permission can upload XML documents with internal entity-expansion payloads (billion-laughs variant) that cause CPU and heap exhaustion, partially mitigated by the JAXP default 64,000 entity-expansion limit.

Why

The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

A flaw was found in Apicurio Registry. The DocumentBuilderAccessor correctly blocks external DTD and schema access but does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING. An attacker with artifact-write permission can upload XML documents with internal entity-expansion payloads (billion-laughs variant) that cause CPU and heap exhaustion, partially mitigated by the JAXP default 64,000 entity-expansion limit.

Why

The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-776 ↗

CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion'). The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkCWE-776
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39593Official EUVD mapping

A flaw was found in Apicurio Registry. The DocumentBuilderAccessor correctly blocks external DTD and schema access but does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or enable FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING. An attacker with artifact-write permission can upload XML documents with internal entity-expansion payloads (billion-laughs variant) that cause CPU and heap exhaustion, partially mitigated by the JAXP default 64,000 entity-expansion limit.

Official EUVD record ↗
BSI · German · WID-SEC-2026-3000Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Apicurio Registry): Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Apicurio Registry) ausnutzen, um einen Denial of Service Angriff durchzuführen, um Informationen offenzulegen und um einen Cross-Site Scripting Angriff durchzuführen.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
See the vendor and CVE records for the affected range.
Fixed
Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 3.3.1
Action
Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 25 Jun 2026 · Last source change 25 Aug 2026, 14:53 UTC · CWE-776 · Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39593
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Missing structured fields: affected versions. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed from vendor advisory to vendor advisory.
    Before
    vendor advisory
    After
    vendor advisory
    secalert@redhat.com ↗
  2. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed from vendor advisory to vendor advisory.
    Before
    vendor advisory
    After
    vendor advisory
    53f830b8-0a3f-465b-8143-3b8a9948e749 ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39593↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2026-12993 · cve.blacktree.nl