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CVE-2026-44020

HIGH 7.5

Published 2026-06-24 · Last modified 2026-07-15

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.

ELEVATED IMPACT

Severe if exploited (CVSS 7.5), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.

Exploitation likelihood

0.3%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 26th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

7.5CVSS 3.1 · HIGH

  • ConfidentialityNone
  • IntegrityNone
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ✓Privileges: No account or privileges required
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-44020/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-44020/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Docling Project Red Hat Docling

Products Docling Red Hat Openshift Ai (Rhoai)

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-776: : Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')
  • CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Known Affected Software Configurations

VendorProductVersion range
DoclingDocling≥ 2.13.0 and < 2.74.0

All CVSS metrics

  • HIGH 7.5 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
  • CRITICAL 9.4 v3.1 · ADP Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:H
  • HIGH 7.5 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
  • CRITICAL 9.4 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:H

References

Patches & mitigations

Technical & other

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS