{"id":"CVE-2026-44020","aliases":["GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg","PYSEC-2026-240"],"title":"Docling: Unsafe XML Entity Expansion in USPTO Patent Backend","summary":"Docling: Unsafe XML Entity Expansion in USPTO Patent Backend","severity":"high","cvss":7.5,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","vendor":"docling","product":"docling","ecosystem":"pip","affected":["docling >= 2.13.0, < 2.74.0"],"patched":["docling 2.74.0"],"published":"2026-06-03","updated":"2026-07-20","source":"OSV","sourceUrl":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/docling-project/docling/security/advisories/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44020"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44020"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2492456"},{"url":"https://github.com/docling-project/docling"},{"url":"https://github.com/docling-project/docling/releases/tag/v2.74.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/docling/PYSEC-2026-240.yaml"},{"url":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-44020.json"}],"tags":["osv","pip"],"epss":0.00601,"epssPercentile":0.47439,"ingestedAt":"2026-07-21T19:04:57.348Z","slug":"CVE-2026-44020","body":"## Overview\n\n### Impact\nThe 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:\n- Read arbitrary files from the server filesystem\n- Perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks\n- Cause denial of service through entity expansion (Billion Laughs attack)\n\nThe vulnerability affects three USPTO patent format parsers: ICE (v4.x), Grant v2.5, and Application v1.x.\n\n### Patches\nFixed in version 2.74.0. The parser now uses `defusedxml.sax.make_parser()` with secure configuration that blocks external entity resolution (`feature_external_ges=False`, `feature_external_pes=False`) while allowing DTD declarations required by USPTO files. This prevents XXE attacks while maintaining compatibility with the USPTO XML format.\n\n### Workarounds\nAvoid processing USPTO patent XML files from untrusted sources. Implement resource limits (memory, CPU time) when processing patent documents.\n\n### References\n- Fix release: [v2.74.0](https://github.com/docling-project/docling/releases/tag/v2.74.0)\n\n## Affected packages\n\n- `docling >= 2.13.0, < 2.74.0`\n\n## Remediation\n\nUpgrade to a patched release:\n\n- `docling 2.74.0`","depth":"twilight","depthScore":41,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":41.3,"likelihood":0.1,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}