A flaw was found in the exsltFuncResultComp() function of libxslt, which handles EXSLT func:result elements during stylesheet parsing. Due to improper type handling, the function may treat an XML document node as a regular XML element node, resulting in a type confusion. This can cause unexpected memory reads and potential crashes. While difficult to exploit, the flaw could lead to application instability or denial of service.
The product allocates or initializes a resource such as a pointer, object, or variable using one type, but it later accesses that resource using a type that is incompatible with the original type.
When the product accesses the resource using an incompatible type, this could trigger logical errors because the resource does not have expected properties. In languages without memory safety, such as C and C++, type confusion can lead to out-of-bounds memory access. While this weakness is frequently associated with unions when parsing data with many different embedded object types in C, it can be present in any application that can interpret the same variable or memory location in multiple ways. This weakness is not unique to C and C++. For example, errors in PHP applications can be triggered by providing array parameters when scalars are expected, or vice versa. Languages such as Perl, which perform automatic conversion of a variable of one type when it is accessed as if it were another type, can also contain these issues.