CVE-2026-44020
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.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.60%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
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 3.1
- 7.5 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.60% probability · 47th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-776, CWE-611
- Affected
- docling/docling
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
References
- https://github.com/docling-project/docling/security/advisories/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfgMitigation, Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:60520
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44020
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2492456
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-44020.json
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.