Description
The OWASP core rule set (CRS) is a set of generic attack detection rules for use with compatible web application firewalls. Prior to versions 3.3.10, 4.25.1, and 4.28.0, CRS rules in the 921 (protocol-attack), 930 (LFI), 931 (RFI), 932 (RCE), 933 (PHP), 934 (generic), 941 (XSS), 942 (SQLi), and 943 (session-fixation) families inspect XML request bodies via the XPath expression XML:/*. That expression matches only element text nodes — it does not match XML attribute values. As a result, an attacker who places an attack payload inside an XML attribute (e.g. <a href="javascript:alert(1)=window.name"></a> or <a value="' OR 1=1 --"></a>) bypasses CRS detection entirely. This is verified empirically against a local CRS test instance and against the public CRS sandbox. The bypass affects approximately 159 rules across 9 rule files and applies at every paranoia level (PL1 through PL4), since the variable list is more or less shared across PLs. The 944 (Java) family is the only one that correctly includes XML://@* in addition to XML:/* and is therefore unaffected. This issue has been patched in versions 3.3.10, 4.25.1, and 4.28.0.
Published: 2026-11-11
Score: 7.2 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 07:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Coreruleset
Coreruleset coreruleset
Vendors & Products Coreruleset
Coreruleset coreruleset

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 17:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description The OWASP core rule set (CRS) is a set of generic attack detection rules for use with compatible web application firewalls. Prior to versions 3.3.10, 4.25.1, and 4.28.0, CRS rules in the 921 (protocol-attack), 930 (LFI), 931 (RFI), 932 (RCE), 933 (PHP), 934 (generic), 941 (XSS), 942 (SQLi), and 943 (session-fixation) families inspect XML request bodies via the XPath expression XML:/*. That expression matches only element text nodes — it does not match XML attribute values. As a result, an attacker who places an attack payload inside an XML attribute (e.g. <a href="javascript:alert(1)=window.name"></a> or <a value="' OR 1=1 --"></a>) bypasses CRS detection entirely. This is verified empirically against a local CRS test instance and against the public CRS sandbox. The bypass affects approximately 159 rules across 9 rule files and applies at every paranoia level (PL1 through PL4), since the variable list is more or less shared across PLs. The 944 (Java) family is the only one that correctly includes XML://@* in addition to XML:/* and is therefore unaffected. This issue has been patched in versions 3.3.10, 4.25.1, and 4.28.0.
Title OWASP CRS: XML Attribute Value Bypass
Weaknesses CWE-138
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.2, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N'}


Subscriptions

Coreruleset Coreruleset
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-11-11T17:27:52.994Z

Reserved: 2026-07-14T22:48:09.780Z

Link: CVE-2026-62971

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-11-11T18:19:47.603

Modified: 2026-11-12T22:18:35.610

Link: CVE-2026-62971

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-11-13T07:00:10Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-138

    Improper Neutralization of Special Elements