CVE-2026-31247

XML Entity Expansion Vulnerability in Docling JATS Backend Causes Denial of Service

Published May 11, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Docling's JATS XML backend is vulnerable to XML Entity Expansion (XXE) attacks thru 2.61.0. The backend uses etree.parse() to parse XML files without disabling entity resolution. An attacker can craft a malicious XML file containing a nested entity expansion payload (XML Bomb). When processed by Docling, the exponential expansion of entities leads to excessive resource consumption, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition on the system running the Docling parser.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-cr42-rg2m-mq4q Docling's JATS XML backend is vulnerable to XML Entity Expansion (XXE) attacks
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Title XML Entity Expansion Vulnerability in Docling JATS Backend Causes Denial of Service
Type Values Removed Values Added
Title XML Entity Expansion in Docling JATS XML Backend Causes Denial of Service
Weaknesses CWE-606
CWE-749
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-400
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Docling-project
Docling-project docling
Vendors & Products Docling-project
Docling-project docling
Type Values Removed Values Added
Title XML Entity Expansion in Docling JATS XML Backend Causes Denial of Service
Weaknesses CWE-606
CWE-749
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Docling's JATS XML backend is vulnerable to XML Entity Expansion (XXE) attacks thru 2.61.0. The backend uses etree.parse() to parse XML files without disabling entity resolution. An attacker can craft a malicious XML file containing a nested entity expansion payload (XML Bomb). When processed by Docling, the exponential expansion of entities leads to excessive resource consumption, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition on the system running the Docling parser.
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
mitre
Published
Updated
May 12, 2026, 6:42 PM
Reserved
Mar 9, 2026, 12:00 AM
Status
Deferred
Published
May 11, 2026, 4:17 PM
Modified
Nov 8, 2026, 4:10 PM