Vulnerability · Published Jan 7, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-22186Bio-Formats <= 8.3.0 XXE in Leica XLEF Metadata Parser

Medium 4.6

In plain English

A medium-severity XML external entity in Bio-Formats from Open Microscopy Environment. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 7% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 4.0)4.6Medium

Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 93.2% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: poc

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

Bio-Formats versions up to and including 8.3.0 contain an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in the Leica Microsystems metadata parsing component (e.g., XLEF). The parser uses an insecurely configured DocumentBuilderFactory when processing Leica XML-based metadata files, allowing external entity expansion and external DTD loading. A crafted metadata file can trigger outbound network requests (SSRF), access local system resources where readable, or cause a denial of service during XML parsing.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
Maven	ome:pom-bio-formats	no fix listed	GHSA-fcqj-76g3-q7qm

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
Open Microscopy Environment	Bio-Formats	0 – through 8.3.0

Weakness: CWE-611 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

References

https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Jan/6 technical-description, exploit
https://github.com/ome/bioformats/security/advisories/GHSA-x9vc-qh97-8gjp vendor-advisory
https://docs.openmicroscopy.org/bio-formats/ product, release-notes
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/bio-formats-xxe-in-leica-xlef-metadata-parser third-party-advisory