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Qt QXmlStreamReader EUVDEUVD-2026-108655

| CVE-2026-16762 HIGH
Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity (CWE-407)
2026-10-23 Qt GHSA-3gxv-qxph-7hg3
8.7
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: Qt
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Submit crafted XML to parsing endpoint
  2. Exploit
    Trigger algorithmic complexity in QXmlStreamReader
  3. Impact
    Exhaust CPU, process unresponsive

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Algorithmic complexity limits
Exploitation Conditions

The only precondition is that the target application uses Qt's QXmlStreamReader to parse XML that an attacker can influence (e.g. an uploaded, submitted, or fetched document); no authentication, privileges, or user interaction beyond ingesting the input are required. Exploitation is limited by whether the application actually exposes an attacker-reachable XML parsing path and whether input-size or timeout controls are in place; impact is contained to the affected process (availability of that one process), with no effect on confidentiality or integrity and no spread to other systems.

Impact

This is a denial-of-service-only flaw (CWE-407, inefficient algorithmic complexity) in Qt's QXmlStreamReader. The supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N) describes a remotely reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated condition with no attack requirements, and impact confined to availability (VA:H) with no confidentiality or integrity loss (VC:N/VI:N). The 8.7 'high' CVSS 4.0 score is driven almost entirely by that reachable availability impact, not by any system compromise. The vuln.today Decision label is 'this_week', which is an elevated-but-not-emergency priority consistent with a reachable DoS that is not known to be actively exploited. No EPSS score was provided, there is no CISA KEV listing, and the supplied references are a vendor advisory wiki entry and two qtbase patch code-reviews - not exploit code - so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The practical risk is real for any service that parses attacker-influenced XML with QXmlStreamReader, but it is bounded: an attacker can hang or pin the affected process, not read data or execute code. The input 'RCE' tag conflicts with the description, which explicitly rules out code execution; treat the RCE label as erroneous and the issue as availability-only.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker submits a specially crafted XML document to a network-facing application (for example an API endpoint, message handler, or file import feature) that uses Qt's QXmlStreamReader to parse it. The structure of the document triggers disproportionate CPU work during parsing, so a single small request pins a CPU core and makes the application unresponsive to legitimate users. No authentication or user interaction is required (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N), and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 23, 2026

Disproportionate CPU consumption in Qt's QXmlStreamReader lets remote attackers render an application unresponsive by supplying a crafted XML document for parsing. Any application built on Qt (qtbase/QtCore) that feeds attacker-influenced XML into QXmlStreamReader is affected, with no confidentiality or integrity impact and no code execution - only availability of the parsing process. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the flaw is not confirmed as actively exploited (not in CISA KEV); vendor fixes exist as upstream qtbase commits, though a released patched Qt version is not independently confirmed, and the priority label places remediation in the current week.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch status: available from the vendor, but only as upstream qtbase code-review changes 738885 and 738901 (https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/qtbase/+/738885 and https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/qtbase/+/738901); a released Qt version containing these changes is not independently confirmed in the supplied data, so verify against your Qt branch and rebuild or upgrade once the fixed release is confirmed, checking the vendor advisory at https://wiki.qt.io/List_of_known_vulnerabilities_in_Qt_products#CVE-2026-16762. Because exploitation only requires that an attacker-controlled XML document reach QXmlStreamReader, interim exposure reduction depends on the parsing path: cap the size and nesting of accepted XML and enforce parse timeouts so a single hostile document cannot monopolize a worker, and isolate parsing into a separate process or thread pool so CPU exhaustion is contained to that process rather than the whole service - both measures add latency and can reject legitimately large but benign documents. If a given application does not accept untrusted XML at all, it is not reachable through this flaw and can be scheduled for the normal update cycle, though the priority label still places remediation in the current week.

Affected VersionsENISA

Qt 4.3.0 <6.8.9
Qt 6.9.0 <6.11.2

Affected Packages

euvd qt fix: 6.8.9, 6.11.2

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

QXmlStreamReader is Qt's pull-based, streaming XML parser shipped in the qtbase module (QtCore), widely used by desktop, embedded and server applications that ingest XML from uploads, network fetches, configuration or message payloads. The root cause class is CWE-407, inefficient algorithmic complexity: the parser's work grows disproportionately relative to input size, so a crafted document makes parsing consume excessive CPU and the hosting process becomes unresponsive. The supplied CPE cpe:2.3:a:qt:qt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* carries a wildcard version, so the sources do not enumerate which Qt release branches are affected; the specific XML construct that triggers the blow-up is not described in the available sources. Qt upstream fixes are under review in the qtbase Gerrit changes 738885 and 738901. Although one feed tag mentions RCE, neither the description, the assessed vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/C:N/I:N/A:H) nor the advisory supports code execution or data exposure, so the impact should be treated as availability-only.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Qt) PRIMARY 8.7 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/S:P/AU:Y/R:A/RE:L
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Remote, unauthenticated, low-complexity XML parsing (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); impact confined to the process (S:U) and purely availability (A:H, C/I:N).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (Qt).

CVSS VectorVendor: Qt

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

An attacker able to supply a crafted XML document to an application using QXmlStreamReader can cause disproportionate CPU consumption during parsing, making the application unresponsive (denial of service). Exploitation requires only that the application parse attacker-influenced XML; no authentication, privileges, or user interaction beyond ingesting the input are needed. There is no loss of confidentiality or integrity - no data disclosure, data modification, or code execution - and the impact is contained to the affected process.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Qt's QXmlStreamReader is vulnerable to crafted XML that can exhaust CPU and render applications unresponsive, affecting any product built on Qt that processes attacker-controlled XML. This availability flaw impacts customer-facing services and internal tools, risking operational disruption and potential downtime costs, though no data breach or code execution is possible. Leadership should prioritize remediation this week given the high severity and broad Qt usage.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 64% exploitable
Prevalence
High
Qt is a widely deployed cross-platform application and embedded framework
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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