Detections
Analytics

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS / 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS / 20.04 LTS / 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS / 26.04 LTS : libxml2 vulnerabilities (USN-8787-1)

high Nessus Plugin ID 350304

Synopsis

The remote Ubuntu host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

The remote Ubuntu 14.04 LTS / 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS / 20.04 LTS / 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS / 26.04 LTS host has packages installed that are affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the USN-8787-1 advisory.

 It was discovered that libxml2 incorrectly handled certain XML elements under certain circumstances. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause libxml2 to crash or execute arbitrary code.
 (CVE-2026-86140)

 It was discovered that libxml2 incorrectly handled certain XML documents when used with Python bindings. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause applications using libxml2 to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2026-74860)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Update the affected packages.

See Also

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8787-1

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 350304

File Name: ubuntu_USN-8787-1.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: Local

Agent: unix

Published: 9/25/2026

Updated: 9/25/2026

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Continuous Assessment, Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5

Percentile: 93.43

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.8

Temporal Score: 5

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-86140

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 6.8

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:24.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:26.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:libxml2-16, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:libxml2-source, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:libxml2-utils, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:libxml2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:python-libxml2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:python3-libxml2

Required KB Items: Host/cpu, Host/Debian/dpkg-l, Host/Ubuntu, Host/Ubuntu/release

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 9/21/2026

Vulnerability Publication Date: 9/5/2026

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-74860, CVE-2026-86140

IAVA: 2026-A-0980

USN: 8787-1