CVE-2003-1564
MEDIUMEPSS 74th pctlDescription
libxml2, possibly before 2.5.0, does not properly detect recursion during entity expansion, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via a crafted XML document containing a large number of nested entity references, aka the "billion laughs attack."
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Elevated risk: more likely to be exploited than 74% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-776 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2009-1955 | High | 7.5 | 53% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2017-18640 | High | 7.5 | 27% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2019-11253 | High | 7.5 | 26% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2019-12401 | High | 7.5 | 7.4% | - | - |
| CVE-2023-20052 | Medium | 5.3 | 7.0% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2019-15903 | High | 7.5 | 6.6% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2003-1564?
Upgrade libxml2 to 2.5.0 or later.
Is CVE-2003-1564 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2003-1564 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 1.6% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 74% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2003-1564?
CVE-2003-1564 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.5, rated medium. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2003-1564 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for libxml2 (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-04-16.