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IBM MQ EUVDEUVD-2026-78872

| CVE-2026-12667 HIGH
Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (CWE-611)
2026-09-15 ibm GHSA-xgj9-c375-55gp
7.1
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: ibm
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Authenticate to MQ with queue-write access
  2. Delivery
    Craft message with malicious XXE in RFH2 folder
  3. Exploit
    Put message on consumed queue
  4. Execution
    .NET client parses RFH2 and resolves external entity
  5. Impact
    Read client-host files or cause limited DoS

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A02:2025 - Security Misconfiguration
ASVS 5.0
V13 - Configuration XML external entity prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Collection

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires: (1) the victim to be running an affected IBM MQ .NET client (not the queue manager itself - this is a client-side flaw); (2) an authenticated attacker (PR:L) with sufficient authority to place messages onto a queue that the vulnerable .NET client consumes; and (3) the crafted message to include a malicious XML external entity inside its RFH2 folder, which the client parses without disabling external-entity resolution. Limiting factors: the attacker must already hold valid MQ credentials with queue-write access, the target must actually deploy and use the .NET client (Java/C clients and the server are not indicated as affected), and the confirmed impact is bounded to file disclosure from the client host and limited (not full) denial of service.

Impact

This is a genuine but moderate-priority issue, well below its 7.1 CVSS would casually suggest for a Log4Shell-era enterprise-messaging product. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L) and SSVC (Exploitation: none, Automatable: no, Technical Impact: partial) are consistent with each other and point to a targeted, not opportunistic, threat. Critically, this is a CLIENT-side XXE: the affected component is the IBM MQ .NET client that parses RFH2 message folders, so the party at risk is the application host running that client, not the queue manager. An authenticated attacker (PR:L) who can place messages onto a queue the .NET client consumes can read files from the client host (C:H) or cause limited denial of service (A:L, e.g. entity-expansion). No EPSS score was provided, there is no CISA KEV listing (Exploitation: none), and no public exploit was supplied - so this is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' The main signals-in-tension are the network attack vector (AV:N) versus the reality that the attacker must already be an authenticated MQ participant able to write to a consumed queue, which narrows the realistic attacker population considerably.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with credentials sufficient to put messages on a queue crafts an MQ message whose RFH2 folder contains a malicious XML external entity referencing a local file (or a resource that triggers entity expansion). When a vulnerable IBM MQ .NET client consumes and parses that RFH2 folder, the XXE resolves, disclosing local file contents back to the attacker or causing a limited denial of service on the client. No public exploit code was identified; exploitation requires authenticated write access to a queue that a target .NET client reads.

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 – Sep 16, 2026

XML external entity (XXE) injection in the IBM MQ .NET client allows an authenticated attacker with queue-write access to read files from the host running that client and to cause a limited denial of service when the client parses the RFH2 folder of a crafted message. The flaw is client-side - the queue manager itself and the Java/C clients are not indicated as affected - and the attacker must already hold valid MQ credentials with authority to place messages on a queue the vulnerable client consumes. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, CISA's SSVC assessment records no exploitation activity and rates the issue not automatable with partial technical impact, and patch code is available from the vendor; the practical risk is genuine but moderate, well below what the 7.1 base score suggests at first glance.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor fix documented in IBM Support flash https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7284936 (patch available per vendor advisory); the advisory specifies the corrected maintenance level for each affected train, so upgrade the .NET client to that level rather than assuming any earlier fix pack resolves the issue, and note that the client library must be redeployed with the application since the defect is in the client and not the queue manager. Where upgrading cannot be done immediately, the most effective compensating control is to harden the client-side XML parsing: disable DTD processing and null out the XmlResolver (e.g. DtdProcessing = Prohibit and XmlResolver = null on the XmlReaderSettings used for RFH2 property parsing), which fully removes the external-entity vector at the cost of losing any legitimate DTD-based parsing, and is best applied through a vendor-supported configuration rather than a custom patch. In addition, restrict queue-write authority so that only trusted principals can place messages onto queues consumed by .NET clients (this directly attacks the PR:L prerequisite but does not help if a trusted connector is itself compromised), avoid consuming messages from external or inter-org channels with the .NET client until patched, and consider running affected clients with least-privilege filesystem permissions so that a successful XXE read cannot reach credentials or key material. Entity-expansion limits and message-size caps provide only partial protection against the availability component and should not be treated as a substitute for the fix.

Affected VersionsENISA

MQ 9.1.0.0 ≤9.1.0.37 LTS
MQ 9.3.0.0 ≤9.3.5.1 CD
MQ 9.2.0.0 ≤9.2.0.43 LTS
MQ 10.0.0.0
MQ 9.4.0.0 ≤9.4.5.1 CD
MQ 9.3.0.0 ≤9.3.0.41 LTS
MQ 9.4.0.0 ≤9.4.0.25 LTS

Affected Packages

euvd mq no fix

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

The issue is a classic CWE-611 improper restriction of XML external entity reference, triggered by the way the IBM MQ .NET client parses RFH2 message headers. RFH2 (Rules and Format Header, version 2) is the MQ message-header structure that carries message properties and folders ahead of the application payload, and it is serialized as XML-like content. When the .NET client processes an inbound message whose RFH2 folder contains a crafted DOCTYPE with an external entity declaration, the underlying .NET XML parser resolves the entity unless external-entity resolution and DTD processing have been explicitly disabled (in .NET terms, leaving DtdProcessing at its permissive default or supplying an XmlResolver/XmlUrlResolver that is not nulled out). Depending on the entity target, this yields local file disclosure through a file:// URI, network-side request forgery toward internal HTTP endpoints, or entity-expansion resource exhaustion contributing to the low-availability impact. The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L confirms the assessed profile: network-reachable delivery path, low privileges required (the attacker needs valid queue-write credentials), no user interaction, unchanged scope confined to the client process, high confidentiality impact (arbitrary file read on the client host) and low availability impact. The scope is deliberately narrow - a malicious message must be routed to a client that actually runs the affected .NET library, and the compromise does not extend to the queue manager.

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Severity by source

Vendor (ibm) PRIMARY 7.1 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
vuln.today AI 7.1 HIGH

Authenticated queue-write access needed (PR:L) over the network (AV:N); XXE enables arbitrary client file read (C:H) with no integrity impact and only limited DoS (A:L).

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

Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).

CVSS VectorVendor: ibm

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

DescriptionCVE.org

IBM MQ 9.1.0.0 through 9.1.0.37 LTS, 9.2.0.0 through 9.2.0.43 LTS, 9.3.0.0 through 9.3.0.41 LTS, 9.3.0.0 through 9.3.5.1 CD, 9.4.0.0 through 9.4.0.25 LTS, 9.4.0.0 through 9.4.5.1 CD, and 10.0.0.0 could allow an authenticated attacker to read files from a vulnerable .NET client or cause limited denial of service due to improper handling of XML external entities in RFH2 folder parsing.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

IBM MQ .NET client deployments are exposed to a client-side XXE issue (CVE-2026-12667) that could let a user with queue-write permission read files from the client host or cause limited denial of service when a crafted RFH2 message is parsed. Organizations should care because this affects the endpoints consuming MQ messages, potentially exposing host data or disrupting message processing, but risk is constrained by the required queue-write access and the absence of public exploit code at time of analysis. A patch is available per vendor advisory and should be prioritized for affected .NET client installations.

Business Impact: Medium
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 70% exploitable
Prevalence
High
IBM MQ is widely deployed enterprise messaging middleware, though flaw is .NET-client-specific
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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
No
Human Impact
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

36
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +36
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

XML External Entity (XXE) attacks exploit XML parsers that process Document Type Definitions (DTDs) without proper restrictions.

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

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