robrichards/xmlseclibs has an Libxml2 Canonicalization error which can bypass Digest/Signature validation
### Summary An authentication bypass vulnerability exists due to a flaw in the libxml2 canonicalization process, which is used by [xmlseclibs](https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibs) during document transformation. This weakness allows an attacker to generate a valid signature once and reuse it indefinitely. In practice, a signature created during a previous interaction - or through a misconfigured authentication flow - can be replayed to bypass authentication checks. ### Details When libxml2’s canonicalization is invoked on an invalid XML input, it may return an empty string rather than a canonicalized node. [xmlseclibs](https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibs) then proceeds to compute the DigestValue over this empty string, treating it as if canonicalization succeeded. https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibs/blob/f4131320c6dcd460f1b0c67f16f8bf24ce4b5c3e/src/XMLSecurityDSig.php#L296 ### Impact Digest bypass: By crafting input that causes canonicalization to yield an empty string, the attacker can manipulate validation to pass incorrectly. Signature replay on empty canonical form: If an empty string has been signed once (e.g., in a prior interaction or via a misconfigured flow), that signature can potentially be replayed to bypass authentication. ### Suggested remediation Treat canonicalization failures (exceptions or nil/empty outputs) as fatal and abort validation. Add explicit checks: reject when canonicalize returns nil/empty or raise
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-66578US | high7.5 | — | ||
xmlseclibs is a library written in PHP for working with XML Encryption and Signatures. Versions 3.1.3 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability due to a flaw in the libxml2 ca… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibsPACKAGE
- https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibs/blob/f4131320c6dcd460f1b0c67f16f8bf24ce4b5c3e/src/XMLSecurityDSig.php#L296WEB
- https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibs/commit/69fd63080bc47a8d51bc101c30b7cb756862d1d6WEB
- https://github.com/robrichards/xmlseclibs/security/advisories/GHSA-c4cc-x928-vjw9WEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-66578ADVISORY
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