CVE-2026-44020: CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') in docling-project docling
Docling simplifies document processing by parsing diverse formats and providing integrations with the generative AI ecosystem. From 2.13.0 until 2.74.0, the USPTO patent XML parser used the standard xml.sax.parseString() without protection against XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. An attacker could craft malicious USPTO patent XML files with external entity references that could read arbitrary files from the server filesystem, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks, or cause denial of service through entity expansion (Billion Laughs attack). The vulnerability affects three USPTO patent format parsers: ICE (v4.x), Grant v2.5, and Application v1.x. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.74.0.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Docling versions >=2.13.0 and <2.74.0 contain a vulnerability (CWE-776) due to improper restriction of recursive entity references in XML DTDs within the USPTO patent XML parsers. The standard xml.sax.parseString() method was used without protections against XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. This allows attackers to craft malicious USPTO patent XML files that can read arbitrary files on the server, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), or cause denial of service through entity expansion (Billion Laughs attack). The affected parsers include ICE (v4.x), Grant (v2.5), and Application (v1.x). The vulnerability is resolved in docling version 2.74.0.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability enables attackers to exploit XML External Entity processing to cause denial of service via entity expansion, read arbitrary files on the server filesystem, or perform SSRF attacks. This can disrupt service availability and potentially expose sensitive data. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5 (high severity) with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and impacts availability but not confidentiality or integrity.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available in docling version 2.74.0. Users should upgrade to version 2.74.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability. There is no indication from the vendor advisory that any other mitigation or temporary workaround is provided or required.
CVE-2026-44020: CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') in docling-project docling
Description
Docling simplifies document processing by parsing diverse formats and providing integrations with the generative AI ecosystem. From 2.13.0 until 2.74.0, the USPTO patent XML parser used the standard xml.sax.parseString() without protection against XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. An attacker could craft malicious USPTO patent XML files with external entity references that could read arbitrary files from the server filesystem, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks, or cause denial of service through entity expansion (Billion Laughs attack). The vulnerability affects three USPTO patent format parsers: ICE (v4.x), Grant v2.5, and Application v1.x. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.74.0.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.5high
Affected software
pkg:github/docling-project/doclingRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Docling versions >=2.13.0 and <2.74.0 contain a vulnerability (CWE-776) due to improper restriction of recursive entity references in XML DTDs within the USPTO patent XML parsers. The standard xml.sax.parseString() method was used without protections against XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. This allows attackers to craft malicious USPTO patent XML files that can read arbitrary files on the server, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), or cause denial of service through entity expansion (Billion Laughs attack). The affected parsers include ICE (v4.x), Grant (v2.5), and Application (v1.x). The vulnerability is resolved in docling version 2.74.0.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability enables attackers to exploit XML External Entity processing to cause denial of service via entity expansion, read arbitrary files on the server filesystem, or perform SSRF attacks. This can disrupt service availability and potentially expose sensitive data. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5 (high severity) with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and impacts availability but not confidentiality or integrity.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available in docling version 2.74.0. Users should upgrade to version 2.74.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability. There is no indication from the vendor advisory that any other mitigation or temporary workaround is provided or required.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-04T21:24:36.506Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44020","vendor":"Red Hat"}]
Threat ID: 6a3c19c5eed863c81e395103
Added to database: 06/24/2026, 17:54:13 UTC
Last enriched: 07/15/2026, 09:21:34 UTC
Last updated: 08/08/2026, 12:41:10 UTC
Views: 136
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