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Full vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-44020High confidence

Docling: Unsafe XML Entity Expansion in USPTO Patent Backend

docling-project · docling

Official source article: GitHub GHSA-M88R-RG27-5XFG ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.

7.5HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 0.60% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs docling-project docling and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 30 daysRemediation target: Within 180 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Open-source package ranges1 source-attributed range

These OSV and GitHub advisory ranges apply only to the named package and ecosystem. A listed fixed version is not a universal product patch or proof that an update is installed.

Ecosystem and packageAffected rangeFirst fixed versionEvidence
pipdocling>= 2.13.0, < 2.74.02.74.0GitHub advisory ↗upstream repository advisory · 28 Aug 2026
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
CVE-2026-44020 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product Securitydocling: Docling: Information disclosure via XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability
4 fixed

The vendor explicitly identifies these products or versions as containing the fix.

  • registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9@sha256:719e138a13ad9cfaff20cb03295538c85dda4fc051ff866b25e04f1be8456ea4_s390x as a component of Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4
  • registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9@sha256:8404758b6b7609b6728f3d464560221bb0250e82406ec879cfcb50819e19f201_arm64 as a component of Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4
  • registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9@sha256:9a5f6e83add8f4ec9f41284ee9c1a689cb193c1be7bd3860256bb612355e2631_ppc64le as a component of Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4
  • registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9@sha256:c7b9ca039c7ed15d23bd819cb6d6f45748cf2f86f7096ebc2db31b1d0f3c1e70_amd64 as a component of Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4
Summary
A flaw was found in docling. An attacker could exploit an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in the USPTO patent XML parser by crafting malicious XML files. This could allow the attacker to read arbitrary files from the server's filesystem, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks, or cause a denial of service by consuming system resources through entity expansion.
Remediation
For Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4.4 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this errata update: https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_openshift_ai/
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2026-39004

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

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.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
7.5 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

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.

What

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.

Why

The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

What

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.

Why

The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') → obtain information outside the intended access boundary
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-776 ↗

CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion'). The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedDenial of serviceCWE-776
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39004Official EUVD mapping

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.

Official EUVD record ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20260701Security Bulletin 1 July 2026

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 1 July 2026, published on 1 July 2026. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2026-021488DoclingにおけるDTD の再帰的なエンティティ参照の不適切な制限に関する脆弱性

Doclingは多様なフォーマットを解析し、生成AIエコシステムとの統合を提供することでドキュメント処理を簡素化します。バージョン2.13.0から2.74.0までの間、USPTO特許XMLパーサーはXML外部エンティティ（XXE）攻撃に対する保護がないまま標準のxml.sax.parseString()を使用していました。攻撃者は任意のサーバーのファイルシステムのファイルを読み取ったり、サーバーサイドリクエスト偽造（SSRF）攻撃を実行したり、エンティティ展開によるサービス拒否（Billion Laughs攻撃）を引き起こす悪意のあるUSPTO特許XMLファイルを作成する可能性があります。この脆弱性は3つのUSPTO特許フォーマットパーサー（ICE（v4.x）、Grant v2.5、およびApplication v1.x）に影響を与えていました。なお、この脆弱性はバージョン2.74.0で修正されました。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
docling: >= 2.13.0, < 2.74.0
Fixed
Action
For Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4.4 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this errata update: https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_openshift_ai/
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 24 Jun 2026 · Last source change 28 Aug 2026, 12:04 UTC · CWE-776 · Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39004
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520.
    Before
    patch: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg · remediation: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg · vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520
    After
    patch: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg · remediation: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg
    security-advisories@github.com ↗
  2. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520.
    Before
    patch: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg · remediation: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg
    After
    patch: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg · remediation: github.com/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg · vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520
    security-advisories@github.com ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    >= 2.13.0, < 2.74.0 · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    After
    >= 2.13.0, < 2.74.0 · Fixed: For Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4.4 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this errata update: https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_openshift_ai/
    Red Hat Product Security ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
Fixed release recorded from official guidance
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39004↗Red Hat Product Security security advisory↗CVE authority or vendor reference · GitHub GHSA-M88R-RG27-5XFG↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2026-44020 · cve.blacktree.nl