CVE-2026-57438 — Nokogiri: Possible Use-After-Free in XInclude Processing
Nokogiri is an open source XML and HTML library for the Ruby programming language. Prior to 1.19.4, XInclude substitution performed by Nokogiri::XML::Node#do_xinclude replaced each <xi:include> in place, freeing the include node along with its children (such as <xi:fallback> and its descendants) and any namespaces declared on them. If an application had already exposed one of those nodes or namespaces to Ruby, the corresponding Ruby object was left pointing at freed memory. Using the object could result in invalid reads or writes to memory. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.19.4.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.1% (30-day exploitation probability)+0
- Technical severity (medium)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Nokogiri Nokogiri, Sparklemotion Nokogiri).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nokogiri | Nokogiri | < 1.19.4 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Sparklemotion | Nokogiri | version < 1.19.4 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | CVSS 4.0 | Low | — | — | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 2.2 | CVSS 4.0 | Low | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 6.6 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | 1.8 | 4.7 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.13%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · sparklemotion/nokogiri
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 6.6
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
1 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-79770 Nokogiri before 1.19.3 ReDoS via CSS selector tokenizer Aug 25, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-79771 Nokogiri before 1.19.3 Memory Leak via XSLT Transform Aug 25, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-79772 Nokogiri before 1.19.1 Unchecked Return Value canonicalize Aug 25, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-79769 Nokogiri before 1.19.4 Invalid Memory Read via initialize_copy_with_args Aug 25, 2026
- High CVE-2026-57435 Nokogiri: Possible Use-After-Free when setting an attribute value via `Nokogiri::XML::Attr#value=` or `#content=` Jun 25, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-57436 Nokogiri: Possible Use-After-Free when setting `Document#root=` to an invalid node type Jun 25, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-57438 is "Nokogiri: Possible Use-After-Free in XInclude Processing", rated Medium. It affects Nokogiri (Nokogiri); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 6.6 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.13% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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