Description
Nmap 7.70 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows local attackers to crash the application by processing malicious XML files with exponential entity expansion. Attackers can create a crafted XML file with nested entity definitions and open it through ZenMap's scan import functionality to cause the program to consume excessive system resources and crash.
Published: 2026-04-26
Score: 6.9 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Denial of Service
Action: Upgrade
AI Analysis

Impact

Nmap 7.70 includes a denial‑of‑service bug that allows local attackers to crash ZenMap by processing a specially crafted XML file with exponential entity expansion. When a user imports such a file through ZenMap’s scan‑import function, the parser expands nested entities until system resources are exhausted, causing the application to crash. The weakness corresponds to CWE‑674, uncontrolled resource consumption, and CWE‑776.

Affected Systems

ZenMap 7.70 is affected. No other versions are listed as vulnerable.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 6.9 signals moderate severity, and the EPSS < 1% indicates very low likelihood of exploitation in the field. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Exploitation requires a local user to create and open a malicious XML file via the ZenMap import interface; no network or privilege escalation vector is disclosed.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 28, 2026 at 19:56 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Install the latest Nmap/ZenMap release that addresses XML entity expansion vulnerabilities.
  • Limit privileges so that only trusted users can import XML files into ZenMap.
  • If an update cannot be applied immediately, monitor the application for crashes and consider disabling XML entity expansion processing in any custom parsing utilities.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 28, 2026 at 19:56 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-776
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Moderate

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Zenmap
Zenmap zenmap
Vendors & Products Zenmap
Zenmap zenmap

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Nmap 7.70 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows local attackers to crash the application by processing malicious XML files with exponential entity expansion. Attackers can create a crafted XML file with nested entity definitions and open it through ZenMap's scan import functionality to cause the program to consume excessive system resources and crash.
Title Nmap 7.70 Denial of Service via XML Entity Expansion
Weaknesses CWE-674
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.2, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}

Subscriptions

Zenmap Zenmap
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published:

Updated: 2026-04-27T14:04:40.659Z

Reserved: 2026-04-26T13:02:34.328Z

Link: CVE-2018-25282

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-04-27T14:04:36.142Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Deferred

Published: 2026-04-26T22:17:28.993

Modified: 2026-04-27T18:55:32.883

Link: CVE-2018-25282

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-04-26T13:19:14Z

Links: CVE-2018-25282 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-28T20:00:19Z

Weaknesses