MPXJ: XXE Vulnerability in MerlinReader

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-61570 records a High severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in MPXJ: XXE Vulnerability in MerlinReader. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps joniles/mpxj (generic), net.sf.mpxj:mpxj (maven), MPXJ.Net (nuget), net.sf.mpxj (nuget) and additional mapped packages. Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 22, 2026Updated Sep 22, 2026Source checked Sep 22, 2026First seen by HOL Sep 22, 2026Material review Sep 22, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: High · CVSS 7.5
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 8 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 7.5. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps joniles/mpxj (generic), net.sf.mpxj:mpxj (maven), MPXJ.Net (nuget), net.sf.mpxj (nuget) and additional mapped packages. Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
joniles/mpxjgeneric	>= 5.5.5, < 16.4.1	Not reported
net.sf.mpxj:mpxjmaven	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1
MPXJ.Netnuget	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1
net.sf.mpxjnuget	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1
net.sf.mpxj-for-csharpnuget	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1
net.sf.mpxj-for-vbnuget	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1
mpxjpip	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1
mpxjrubygems	>=5.5.5,<16.4.1	16.4.1

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for joniles/mpxj, net.sf.mpxj:mpxj, MPXJ.Net.
Review the reported fix. Update net.sf.mpxj:mpxj to 16.4.1; MPXJ.Net to 16.4.1; net.sf.mpxj to 16.4.1; net.sf.mpxj-for-csharp to 16.4.1; net.sf.mpxj-for-vb to 16.4.1; mpxj to 16.4.1; mpxj to 16.4.1 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 22, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 22, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Sep 22, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

MPXJ is an open source library to read and write project plans from a variety of file formats and databases. From 5.5.5 until 16.4.1, MerlinReader creates a DocumentBuilder with default settings while parsing XML from the ZTIMEINTERVALS column of a Merlin project SQLite database, leaving doctype declarations and external entities enabled. A crafted database can cause the parser to read an arbitrary local file, although MPXJ's subsequent handling of the parsed XML makes disclosure of the file contents unlikely. This issue is fixed in version 16.4.1.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.