ModSecurity is an open source, cross platform web application firewall (WAF) engine for Apache, IIS and Nginx. From 3.0.15 until 3.0.17, XML request body processing with SecParseXmlIntoArgs set to On or OnlyArgs can leave XMLNodes::parsing_ctx_arg uninitialized in the SAX end-element callback. A single crafted unauthenticated HTTP request can make a worker dereference the pointer, resulting in a constant-value write to an attacker-controlled address. The resulting memory corruption can terminate the worker and may disclose memory or redirect execution. Earlier 3.0.x releases and ModSecurity 2.x do not use the affected path. This issue is fixed in version 3.0.17.

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Network

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact None

Availability Impact High

User Interaction None

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

No EPSS score available.

Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions
owasp-modsecurity ModSecurity affected
Version Status Constraints
>= 3.0.15, < 3.0.17 affected —

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Project Subscriptions

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.

Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

References
Link Providers
https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/commit/e979a73e89d60cefdf42b41bb38bf1e456d7909f cve-icon
https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/releases/tag/v3.0.17 cve-icon
https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/security/advisories/GHSA-jx3r-phvx-2jmj cve-icon
History

Mon, 09 Nov 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description ModSecurity is an open source, cross platform web application firewall (WAF) engine for Apache, IIS and Nginx. From 3.0.15 until 3.0.17, XML request body processing with SecParseXmlIntoArgs set to On or OnlyArgs can leave XMLNodes::parsing_ctx_arg uninitialized in the SAX end-element callback. A single crafted unauthenticated HTTP request can make a worker dereference the pointer, resulting in a constant-value write to an attacker-controlled address. The resulting memory corruption can terminate the worker and may disclose memory or redirect execution. Earlier 3.0.x releases and ModSecurity 2.x do not use the affected path. This issue is fixed in version 3.0.17.
Title ModSecurity v3 XML Request Body Processor Uninitialized Pointer Dereference Vulnerability
Weaknesses CWE-787
CWE-824
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-11-09T21:37:02.759Z

Reserved: 2026-08-13T17:44:28.645Z

Link: CVE-2026-73857

cve-icon Vulnrichment

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cve-icon NVD

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cve-icon Redhat

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cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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Weaknesses