Docling: Potential Path Traversal via LaTeX \includegraphics and \input Commands

Overview

Impact

The LaTeX backend's handling of \includegraphics, \input, and \include commands lacked path containment validation. Attackers could craft malicious LaTeX documents with path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../etc/passwd) to:

• Read arbitrary files from the file system accessible to the process
• Include sensitive files in the converted document output
• Potentially access configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data

Patches

Fixed in version 2.91.0. The fix implements strict path validation using Path.resolve().is_relative_to() to ensure all resolved paths remain within the base document directory. Attempts to traverse outside the base directory are logged and blocked.

Workarounds

Avoid processing untrusted LaTeX documents. If processing is necessary, run in a sandboxed environment with restricted file system access.

References

• Fix release: v2.91.0

Affected packages

• docling >= 2.73.0, < 2.91.0

Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

• docling 2.91.0