CVE-2026-33036

fast-xml-parser affected by numeric entity expansion bypassing all entity expansion limits (incomplete fix for CVE-2026-26278)

Published Mar 20, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
fast-xml-parser allows users to process XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries or callbacks. Versions 4.0.0-beta.3 through 5.5.5 contain a bypass vulnerability where numeric character references (&#NNN;, &#xHH;) and standard XML entities completely evade the entity expansion limits (e.g., maxTotalExpansions, maxExpandedLength) added to fix CVE-2026-26278, enabling XML entity expansion Denial of Service. The root cause is that replaceEntitiesValue() in OrderedObjParser.js only enforces expansion counting on DOCTYPE-defined entities while the lastEntities loop handling numeric/standard entities performs no counting at all. An attacker supplying 1M numeric entity references like &#65; can force ~147MB of memory allocation and heavy CPU usage, potentially crashing the process—even when developers have configured strict limits. This issue has been fixed in version 5.5.6.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-8gc5-j5rx-235r fast-xml-parser affected by numeric entity expansion bypassing all entity expansion limits (incomplete fix for CVE-2026-26278)
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:beta4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:beta5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:beta6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:beta7:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:naturalintelligence:fast-xml-parser:4.0.0:beta8:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Naturalintelligence
Naturalintelligence fast-xml-parser
Vendors & Products Naturalintelligence
Naturalintelligence fast-xml-parser
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description fast-xml-parser allows users to process XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries or callbacks. Versions 4.0.0-beta.3 through 5.5.5 contain a bypass vulnerability where numeric character references (&#NNN;, &#xHH;) and standard XML entities completely evade the entity expansion limits (e.g., maxTotalExpansions, maxExpandedLength) added to fix CVE-2026-26278, enabling XML entity expansion Denial of Service. The root cause is that replaceEntitiesValue() in OrderedObjParser.js only enforces expansion counting on DOCTYPE-defined entities while the lastEntities loop handling numeric/standard entities performs no counting at all. An attacker supplying 1M numeric entity references like &#65; can force ~147MB of memory allocation and heavy CPU usage, potentially crashing the process—even when developers have configured strict limits. This issue has been fixed in version 5.5.6.
Title fast-xml-parser affected by numeric entity expansion bypassing all entity expansion limits (incomplete fix for CVE-2026-26278)
Weaknesses CWE-776
References
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'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Mar 25, 2026, 1:57 PM
Reserved
Mar 17, 2026, 6:10 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Mar 20, 2026, 6:16 AM
Modified
Jun 17, 2026, 10:36 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Mar 20, 2026, 5:17 AM