Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit. Prior to versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2, the ast_xml_open() function in xml.c parses XML documents using libxml with unsafe parsing options that enable entity expansion and XInclude processing. Specifically, it invokes xmlReadFile() with the XML_PARSE_NOENT flag and later processes XIncludes via xmlXIncludeProcess().If any untrusted or user-supplied XML file is passed to this function, it can allow an attacker to trigger XML External Entity (XXE) or XInclude-based local file disclosure, potentially exposing sensitive files from the host system. This can also be triggered in other cases in which the user is able to supply input in xml format that triggers the asterisk process to parse it. This issue has been patched in versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2.
History

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit. Prior to versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2, the ast_xml_open() function in xml.c parses XML documents using libxml with unsafe parsing options that enable entity expansion and XInclude processing. Specifically, it invokes xmlReadFile() with the XML_PARSE_NOENT flag and later processes XIncludes via xmlXIncludeProcess().If any untrusted or user-supplied XML file is passed to this function, it can allow an attacker to trigger XML External Entity (XXE) or XInclude-based local file disclosure, potentially exposing sensitive files from the host system. This can also be triggered in other cases in which the user is able to supply input in xml format that triggers the asterisk process to parse it. This issue has been patched in versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2.
Title Asterisk xml.c uses unsafe XML_PARSE_NOENT leading to potential XXE Injection
Weaknesses CWE-611
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 2, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-02-06T17:37:22.223Z

Reserved: 2026-01-15T15:45:01.957Z

Link: CVE-2026-23739

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-02-06T17:37:07.099Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-02-06T17:16:26.147

Modified: 2026-02-06T17:16:26.147

Link: CVE-2026-23739

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.