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Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Apr 24, 2021· Updated Aug 3, 2024

CVE-2021-31598

CVE-2021-31598

Description

An issue was discovered in libezxml.a in ezXML 0.8.6. The function ezxml_decode() performs incorrect memory handling while parsing crafted XML files, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Heap buffer overflow in ezXML 0.8.6's ezxml_decode() allows attackers to cause a crash or potentially execute arbitrary code via crafted XML.

Vulnerability

The vulnerability resides in the ezxml_decode() function of ezXML version 0.8.6. Incorrect memory handling while parsing crafted XML files leads to a heap-based buffer overflow. The overflow occurs at ezxml.c:201 during a memmove and strncpy operation that shifts and copies replacement text without proper bounds checking [1].

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this by providing a specially crafted XML file to an application using ezXML. No authentication or special privileges are required; the vulnerability is triggered simply by parsing the malicious input. The out-of-bounds write corrupts adjacent heap chunk metadata, leading to a crash when the corrupted memory is freed [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation results in heap corruption, which can cause a denial of service via application crash. Depending on heap layout and attacker control, it may be possible to achieve arbitrary code execution, though the reference primarily demonstrates a crash [1].

Mitigation

As of the latest reference update (2021-10-25), no patch has been released for ezXML 0.8.6. The bug report remains open. Users should consider avoiding the use of ezXML with untrusted XML input or monitor for future updates. No workaround is documented [1].

References
  1. ezXML / Bugs / #28 Out-of-bounds write in ezxml_decode() leading to heap corruption

AI Insight generated on May 27, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

59

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

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References

2

News mentions

0

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