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CVE-2026-28809

XXE in esaml SAML library allows local file read and potential SSRF

6.3 Medium

CVE-2026-28809 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.3) in Arekinath Esaml, published March 23, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.29%, the 21st percentile. No source names a fixed version.

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

0.29%Up 0.2 points since Mar 23, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 6.3

XXE in esaml SAML library allows local file read and potential SSRF

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Record
CVE-2026-28809
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-611
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-14396 6.3

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Record
EUVD-2026-14396
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-4g2h-vm7x-747c 6.3

esaml XXE vulnerability allows local file disclosure and SSRF via crafted SAML messages

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Record
GHSA-4g2h-vm7x-747c
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-611
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 6.3

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Record
CVE-2026-28809
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS 3.1
5.3 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Weakness
CWE-611
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 6.3

XXE in esaml SAML library allows local file read and potential SSRF

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Record
CVE-2026-28809
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-611
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVEEF-CVE-2026-28809 6.3

XXE in esaml SAML library allows local file read and potential SSRF

Summary

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Workarounds

Upgrade to Erlang/OTP 27 or later. Starting with OTP 27, xmerl_scan disables entity expansion by default, which mitigates this vulnerability without changes to esaml.

Configurations

The application must use esaml to process SAML messages and run on Erlang/OTP versions before 27. Starting with OTP 27, xmerl_scan disables entity expansion by default, which mitigates this vulnerability.

Record
EEF-CVE-2026-28809
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-611
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-4g2h-vm7x-747c 6.3

esaml XXE vulnerability allows local file disclosure and SSRF via crafted SAML messages

XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in esaml (and its forks) allows an attacker to cause the system to read local files and incorporate their contents into processed SAML documents, and potentially perform SSRF via crafted SAML messages.

esaml parses attacker-controlled SAML messages using xmerl_scan:string/2 before signature verification without disabling XML entity expansion. On Erlang/OTP versions before 27, Xmerl allows entities by default, enabling pre-signature XXE attacks. An attacker can cause the host to read local files (e.g., Kubernetes-mounted secrets) into the SAML document. If the attacker is not a trusted SAML SP, signature verification will fail and the document is discarded, but file contents may still be exposed through logs or error messages.

This issue affects all versions of esaml, including forks by arekinath, handnot2, and dropbox. Users running on Erlang/OTP 27 or later are not affected due to Xmerl defaulting to entities disabled.

Record
GHSA-4g2h-vm7x-747c
CVSS 4.0
6.3 MediumCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness
CWE-611
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
esaml
Hex
through 4.6.0 None known
esaml
Hex
All versions, plus listed versions
3.0.13.1.03.2.03.3.03.4.0
Show 11 moreShow less
3.5.03.6.03.6.13.7.04.0.04.1.04.2.04.3.04.4.04.5.04.6.0
None known
esaml
Hex
through 4.6.0, plus listed versions
3.0.13.1.03.2.03.3.03.4.0
Show 10 moreShow less
3.5.03.6.03.6.13.7.04.0.04.1.04.2.04.3.04.4.04.5.0
None known

History

History
WhenChangedSources
2026-11-02createdCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

References

Show 7 moreShow less
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