CVE-2026-44018

Workarounds

Avoid processing METS-GBS archives from untrusted sources. If necessary, pre-validate archives in an isolated environment with resource limits.

References

• Fix release: v2.91.0

The METS-GBS backend's XML parsing and the input document format detection lacked security controls, enabling:

• XML External Entity (XXE) attacks to read local files or cause denial of service
• Decompression bombs (zip bombs) to exhaust memory and disk space
• Unbounded archive extraction consuming system resources

An attacker could craft malicious METS-GBS archives that, when processed, could read sensitive files, exhaust system resources, or cause application crashes.

An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs. Typical impact: local file disclosure, server-side request forgery, or denial of service.

CVE-2026-44018 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, no privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (2.91.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Fixed in version 2.91.0. The fix implements:

• Secure XML parsing with resolve_entities=False, load_dtd=False, and no_network=True
• Configurable limits: 300 MB total extraction size, 10 MB per file, 1000 member count
• Cumulative size tracking across all extractions
• Early termination when limits are exceeded
• Secure format detection of METS-GBS tar archives with _detect_mets_gbs() method: maximum file size (10 MB per file), maximum member count (1000 members), and exception handling to gracefully fail when limits are exceeded

1. What is CVE-2026-44018? CVE-2026-44018 is a medium-severity XML external entity injection (XXE) vulnerability in docling (pip), affecting versions >= 2.45.0, < 2.91.0. It is fixed in 2.91.0. An XML parser processes external entity references in untrusted input, causing the server to fetch internal resources or remote URLs.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-44018? CVE-2026-44018 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). 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 docling are affected by CVE-2026-44018? docling (pip) versions >= 2.45.0, < 2.91.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-44018? Yes. CVE-2026-44018 is fixed in 2.91.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-44018 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-44018 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-2026-44018 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-2026-44018? Upgrade docling to 2.91.0 or later.