Summary
xmldom: Quadratic-time parsing via the malformed-input recovery path, parseElementStartPart re-scan and normalize() adjacent-text merge
Impact
Availability only: a single parse of a small crafted document blocks the Node.js event loop for the
duration of the quadratic work (multiple seconds at tens of KB; larger inputs scale as O(n²)). No
memory blow-up beyond transient strings, no data exposure, no integrity impact. Because XML is
routinely accepted from untrusted sources and parsed with default options, one request can stall a
server. The payloads are highly compressible, so any endpoint accepting compressed XML faces
additional amplification. Finding B is additionally reachable via an explicit normalize() call on a
programmatically built DOM (see Proof of Concept), so applications that construct a document from attacker-influenced
data and normalize it are exposed even without parsing.
Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service. Typical impact: denial of service.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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@xmldom/xmldom to 0.8.15 or later; @xmldom/xmldom to 0.9.12 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-83614? CVE-2026-83614 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in @xmldom/xmldom (npm), affecting versions >= 0.7.0, <= 0.8.14. It is fixed in 0.8.15, 0.9.12. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.
- Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-83614?
@xmldom/xmldom(npm) (versions >= 0.7.0, <= 0.8.14)xmldom(npm) (versions >= 0.3.0, <= 0.6.0)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-83614? Yes. CVE-2026-83614 is fixed in 0.8.15, 0.9.12. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-83614 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-83614 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-83614 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-83614?
- Upgrade
@xmldom/xmldomto 0.8.15 or later - Upgrade
@xmldom/xmldomto 0.9.12 or later
- Upgrade