---
id: CVE-2026-88385
title: >-
  Mini-XML 4.0.5 contains a memory leak vulnerability in mxml_load_data() during
  malformed XML parsing
summary: >-
  Mini-XML 4.0.5 contains a memory leak vulnerability in mxml_load_data() during
  malformed XML parsing. Specially crafted XML input can cause text nodes
  allocated by mxmlNewText() to become unlinked before a parse error transfers
  control t…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-401
vendor: Red Hat
published: '2026-09-24'
updated: '2026-10-06'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-06T18:16:57.880'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-88385'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/michaelrsweet/mxml/commit/83ef80ae3c5413b73f501edb59ee74e31ce399d0
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'https://github.com/michaelrsweet/mxml/issues/356'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'https://github.com/michaelrsweet/mxml/issues/356'
    label: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-88385.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-88385'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-88385'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - exploit-available
epss: 0.00307
epssPercentile: 0.23403
exploitAvailable: true
ssvc:
  exploitation: poc
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-10-06T15:40:22.501112Z'
scores:
  nvd: 6.5
  vendor: 7.5
  adp: 6.5
ingestedAt: '2026-09-24T16:47:15.853Z'
---

## Overview

Mini-XML 4.0.5 contains a memory leak vulnerability in mxml_load_data() during malformed XML parsing. Specially crafted XML input can cause text nodes allocated by mxmlNewText() to become unlinked before a parse error transfers control to the cleanup path. These orphaned nodes are not released, resulting in a persistent memory leak on each parsing attempt. Repeated attacker-controlled requests can cause cumulative memory exhaustion and denial of service.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · updated 2026-09-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-88385.json)