---
id: CVE-2026-54668
title: >-
  Kitodo.Production: XXE in XMLUtils EAD/XML upload parsers (parseXMLString /
  getNumberOfEADElements / checkIfXmlIsWellFormed lack secure JAXP config)
summary: >-
  Kitodo.Production is a workflow management tool for mass digitization and is
  part of the Kitodo Digital Library Suite. Prior to version 3.9.2,
  org.kitodo.production.helper.XMLUtils exposes several XML parsing helpers that
  construct a JAX…
severity: high
cvss: 8.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-611
vendor: kitodo
product: kitodo-production
affected:
  - kitodo-production < 3.9.2
published: '2026-10-23'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T14:54:35.530Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-54668'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/kitodo/kitodo-production/security/advisories/GHSA-mff2-fpqj-jg4q
    label: >-
      https://github.com/kitodo/kitodo-production/security/advisories/GHSA-mff2-fpqj-jg4q
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/kitodo/kitodo-production/releases/tag/kitodo-production-3.9.2
    label: >-
      https://github.com/kitodo/kitodo-production/releases/tag/kitodo-production-3.9.2
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-10-23T15:29:36.881Z'
---

## Overview

Kitodo.Production is a workflow management tool for mass digitization and is part of the Kitodo Digital Library Suite. Prior to version 3.9.2, org.kitodo.production.helper.XMLUtils exposes several XML parsing helpers that construct a JAXP parser with the default, non-secure configuration. The methods parseXMLString(String), getNumberOfEADElements(String, String) and checkIfXmlIsWellFormed(String) build a DocumentBuilderFactory / XMLInputFactory / SAXParserFactory via newInstance() and parse the attacker-supplied string without disabling DOCTYPE declarations or external entity resolution. These helpers sit directly on the EAD-import path: an authenticated user who uploads an EAD/XML file through the "Create process" file-upload dialog has the uploaded bytes parsed by these methods. A crafted document with an external entity therefore yields XML External Entity (XXE) injection: local file disclosure and outbound SSRF requests from the server. This issue has been patched in version 3.9.2.

## Affected

- `kitodo-production < 3.9.2`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.