CVE-2025-6985
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Description
An XML external entity reference vulnerability has been discovered in the python langchain-text-splitters package. This vulnerability arises because the class allows the use of arbitrary XSLT stylesheets, which are parsed using lxml.etree.parse() and lxml.etree.XSLT() without any hardening measures. In lxml versions up to 4.9.x, external entities are resolved by default, allowing attackers to read arbitrary local files or perform outbound HTTP(S) fetches. In lxml versions 5.0 and above, while entity expansion is disabled, the XSLT document() function can still read any URI unless XSLTAccessControl is applied. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to gain read-only access to any file the LangChain process can reach, including sensitive files such as SSH keys, environment files, source code, or cloud metadata. No authentication, special privileges, or user interaction are required, and the issue is exploitable in default deployments that enable custom XSLT.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Additional Information
- This content is not included.Bugzilla 2401958: langchain-text-splitters: XXE Vulnerability in langchain-text-splitters
- Content from cwe.mitre.org is not included.CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
- FAQ: Frequently asked questions about CVE-2025-6985
- Offline Security Data data is available for integration with other systems. See Offline Security Data API to get started.
External References
Content from www.cve.org is not included.https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-6985
Content from nvd.nist.gov is not included.https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6985
Content from github.com is not included.https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain/pull/31819
Affected Packages and Issued Red Hat Security Errata
| Products / Services | Components | State | Errata |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenShift Lightspeed | openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-service-api-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/lightspeed-rhel9 | Affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/de-minimal-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/de-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/de-supported-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/de-supported-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/ee-minimal-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/ee-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/ee-supported-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/ee-supported-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/platform-resource-runner-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/aap-cloud-metrics-collector-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/ansible-dev-tools-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/de-minimal-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/de-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/de-supported-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/de-supported-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-cloud-services-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-minimal-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-supported-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-supported-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/lightspeed-chatbot-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-25/platform-resource-runner-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/ansible-dev-tools-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/de-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/de-supported-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/ee-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/ee-supported-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-26/platform-resource-runner-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-tech-preview/ansible-devspaces-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform/ee-minimal-rhel8 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform/ee-minimal-rhel9 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-automation-platform-24/lightspeed-rhel8 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 | ansible-automation-platform-25/lightspeed-rhel8 | Fixed | RHSA-2025:18984 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-amd-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-aws-nvidia-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-azure-amd-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-azure-nvidia-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-gcp-nvidia-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-intel-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/bootc-nvidia-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/instructlab-amd-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/instructlab-intel-rhel9 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) | rhelai1/instructlab-nvidia-rhel9 | Will not fix |
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authorities (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications ).
| CVSS v3 Score Breakdown | Red Hat | NVD |
|---|---|---|
| CVSS v3 Base Score | 7.5 | |
| Attack Vector | Network | |
| Attack Complexity | Low | |
| Privileges Required | None | |
| User Interaction | None | |
| Scope | Unchanged | |
| Confidentiality Impact | High | |
| Integrity Impact | None | |
| Availability Impact | None |
CVSS v3 Vector
Red Hat CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?
For more information, see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/762393.
My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
- "Under investigation" doesn't necessarily mean that the product is affected by this vulnerability. It only means that our Analysis Team is still working on determining whether the product is affected and how it is affected.
- "Affected" means that our Analysis Team has determined that this product is affected by this vulnerability and might release a fix to address this in the near future.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Upgrade to a supported product version that includes a fix for this vulnerability (recommended).
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
- Red Hat Engineering focuses on addressing high-priority issues based on their complexity or limited lifecycle support. Therefore, lower-priority issues will not receive immediate fixes.
What is a mitigation?
I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?
Why is my security scanner reporting my product as vulnerable to this vulnerability even though my product version is fixed or not affected?
My product is listed as "Out of Support Scope". What does this mean?
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