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ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2016-5131

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-07-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0 / 52.0.2743.82 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Use-after-free vulnerability in libxml2 through 2.9.4, as used in Google Chrome before 52.0.2743.82, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors related to the XPointer range-to function.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in libxml2 (versions through 2.9.4) in the XPointer range-to function implementation, allowing remote attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code via crafted XML documents.

MitigationUpdate libxml2 to version 2.9.5 or later which contains the security fix; for Google Chrome users, update to version 52.0.2743.82 or later.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
ChromeWeb browser
Affected:< 52.0.2743.82
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
Libxml2Framework / library
Affected:<= 2.9.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 10.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed libxml2 version
    Run `xml2-config --version` or check your package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l libxml2` on Debian/Ubuntu, `rpm -q libxml2` on RHEL)
    Affected if The version is 2.9.4 or earlier
  2. Check Google Chrome version
    Open Chrome, go to Settings > About Chrome, or navigate to chrome://settings/help
    Affected if The version is earlier than 52.0.2743.82
  3. Verify if application uses libxml2 for XML parsing
    Check application dependencies or running processes that link to libxml2 (e.g., `ldd <executable>` on Linux, or examine application documentation)
    Affected if The application links against a vulnerable libxml2 version (2.9.4 or earlier)
  4. Identify if XPointer range-to function is invoked
    Review XML documents or application code for usage of XPointer syntax with the range-to operator (e.g., `xmlns(xpointer=...range-to...)`) or analyze network traffic/SOAP requests containing XPointer expressions
    Affected if The environment processes XML documents that use XPointer range-to expressions

You are affected if libxml2 version is 2.9.4 or earlier (or Chrome < 52.0.2743.82) AND your environment processes XML documents using the XPointer range-to function.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0 / 52.0.2743.82 or later
Fixed in 10.052.0.2743.82
Interim mitigation

Update libxml2 to version 2.9.5 or later which contains the security fix; for Google Chrome users, update to version 52.0.2743.82 or later.

Fix this in Chrome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,760
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,416.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-5131 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data