Skip to main content
HIGH

CVE-2021-28040

CVSS v3

7.5

HIGH

EPSS Score

1.2 %

exploit probability, as of 2026-09-25

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

—

SSVC status

Description

An issue was discovered in OSSEC 3.6.0. An uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in os_xml.c occurs when a large number of opening and closing XML tags is used. Because recursion is used in _ReadElem without restriction, an attacker can trigger a segmentation fault once unmapped memory is reached.

Technical details

Published
2021-03-05

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-28040?

An issue was discovered in OSSEC 3.6.0. An uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in os_xml.c occurs when a large number of opening and closing XML tags is used. Because recursion is used in _ReadElem without restriction, an attacker can trigger a segmentation fault once unmapped memory is reached.

Is CVE-2021-28040 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-28040 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.2% on 2026-09-25, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-28040?

CVE-2021-28040 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity).

Is CVE-2021-28040 affecting your environment?

Use isMalicious to check if any of your IPs or domains are associated with this vulnerability's IOCs.

No credit card required · 500 free checks/month · Free API key