CVE-2026-44020
Docling: Unsafe XML Entity Expansion in USPTO Patent Backend
Reported by github_m · Published June 24, 2026
docling is fixed in 2.74.0 (PyPI)
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.
Fixed versions
Upgrade to a fixed version or later. Language registries are listed first, then Linux distributions, then vendor products.
| Package | Ecosystem | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| docling | PyPI | 2.74.0 |
| docling | docling | 2.74.0 |
Risk scores
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| docling-project | docling | >= 2.13.0, < 2.74.0 |
| PyPI | docling | 2.13.0 |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | |
| docling-project | docling | 2.13.0 |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 | 1786612637 |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) |
Timeline
- Jun 3, 2026 CVE Published
- Jun 7, 2026 Security Advisory (2 in total, the first dated here)
- Aug 7, 2026 EPSS Score (30 in total, the first dated here)
- Oct 26, 2026 Distribution Patch
Query this with the API
The same record, from the CLI:
vulnetix vdb vuln CVE-2026-44020
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curl -s -H "Authorization: ApiKey ${VULNETIX_ORG_ID}:${VULNETIX_API_KEY}" \
"https://api.vdb.vulnetix.com/v2/vuln/CVE-2026-44020/fixes/registry"The Community plan is free and allows 50 queries a day. Get a free API key · API quickstart
References
- https://github.com/docling-project/docling/security/advisories/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44020 advisory
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m88r-rg27-5xfg advisory
- 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 advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44020 vdb
- RHBZ#2492456 issue
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-44020.json url
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:60520 vendor-advisory