Privilege escalation via elevated-context higher-order XQuery evaluation
Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026
Privilege escalation in Progress MarkLogic Server allows attackers to exceed granted permissions through higher-order XQuery functions. In 11.x releases before 11.3.7 and 12.x releases before 12.1.0, certain higher-order XQuery functions evaluate user-controlled values in an elevated security context. Exploitation requires control of values reaching those functions; the supplied record does not identify the specific functions, required role, or resulting permissions.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Progress MarkLogic Server allows attackers to exceed granted permissions through higher-order XQuery functions. In 11.x releases before 11.3.7 and 12.x releases before 12.1.0, certain higher-order XQuery functions evaluate user-controlled values in an elevated security context. Exploitation requires control of values reaching those functions; the supplied record does not identify the specific functions, required role, or resulting permissions.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-85954
- Published
- Oct 12, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 12, 2026
- Vendor
- Progress Software Corporation
- Product
- MarkLogic Server
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 12, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=11.0.0 <11.3.7
- Affected versionversion=12.0.0 <12.1.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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