CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-125883NVD status: Awaiting Analysis

N-central: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-125883 is a critical-severity improper restriction of XML external entity reference vulnerability in N-central from N-able, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.3 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists version 26.4.1 as the first without the flaw, so updating N-central to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.92% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 61% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update N-central to 26.4.1 or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on me.n-able.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
N-ableN-centralbefore 26.4.126.4.1

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Attack requirements
NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
LowLimited loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA.

Official description

Improper restriction of XML external entity reference vulnerability in N-able N-central allows XML Schema Poisoning. This issue affects N-central: before 26.4.1.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Many XML parsers and validators can be configured to disable external entity expansion.

More Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerabilities (CWE-611)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in N-central

All N-central vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerabilities

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