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CVE Record

CVE-2026-41673: xmldom: Denial of service via uncontrolled recursion in XML serialization

xmldom is a pure JavaScript W3C standard-based (XML DOM Level 2 Core) `DOMParser` and `XMLSerializer` module. In @xmldom/xmldom prior to versions 0.9.10 and 0.8.13 and xmldom version 0.6.0 and prior, seven recursive traversals in lib/dom.js operate without a depth limit. A sufficiently deeply nested DOM tree causes a RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded, crashing the application. This issue has been patched in versions @xmldom/xmldom versions 0.9.10 and 0.8.13.

HighCVSS 8.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Applications using affected xmldom versions can crash when processing a sufficiently deeply nested XML document or DOM tree. An unauthenticated remote attacker may cause service disruption where attacker-controlled XML reaches vulnerable serialization paths. The supplied evidence indicates availability impact, not data theft or modification.

Executive priority

Prioritize internet-facing or business-critical XML-processing services for prompt remediation. Although no active exploitation is established, exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction where untrusted XML reaches the vulnerable code. Schedule other confirmed deployments through normal high-severity patching, with compensating controls until upgraded.

Technical view

Seven recursive traversals in lib/dom.js lack depth limits. Deeply nested DOM structures can exhaust the JavaScript call stack, raising a RangeError and potentially terminating the application process. Affected versions include xmldom 0.6.0 and earlier, plus vulnerable @xmldom/xmldom 0.8.x and 0.9.x releases.

Likely exposure

Exposure is highest in network-facing services that accept, construct, transform, or serialize attacker-influenced XML using an affected direct or transitive dependency. Applications without attacker-controlled XML paths may have substantially lower practical risk, but still require inventory confirmation.

Exploitation context

The CVSS 4.0 score is 8.7, reflecting low-complexity, unauthenticated network exploitation with high availability impact. The supplied bundle marks this CVE as absent from KEV and provides no evidence of active exploitation. Public proof-of-concept status is not established by the supplied sources.

Researcher notes

Confirm reachable vulnerable traversal paths rather than relying solely on package presence. Review both package identities because legacy xmldom and scoped @xmldom/xmldom have different affected ranges. The supplied material identifies recursive serialization-related traversals but does not establish universal reachability, public exploitation, or a fixed legacy xmldom release.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade @xmldom/xmldom 0.9.x to 0.9.10 or later.
  • Upgrade @xmldom/xmldom 0.8.x to 0.8.13 or later.
  • For legacy xmldom, follow vendor guidance to migrate to a maintained, fixed release.
  • Until upgraded, restrict attacker-controlled XML and enforce application-level input complexity limits.
  • Use process isolation and restart controls to reduce outage impact from unexpected parser failures.

Validation and detection

  • Inspect manifests, lockfiles, deployed artifacts, and SBOMs for affected direct or transitive versions.
  • Trace whether untrusted XML can reach xmldom parsing, DOM construction, transformation, or serialization paths.
  • Confirm production resolves only fixed @xmldom/xmldom versions after dependency installation.
  • Regression-test deeply nested XML handling and verify rejection or controlled failure without process termination.
  • Monitor application logs for call-stack RangeError events associated with XML processing.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-674: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-776: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-41673 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.7 (4.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

2CVSS vectors
5Timeline events
2ADP providers
18Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: pocAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

2 official scores

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.7CVSS 4.0HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——GitHub_M
7.5CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6redhat-SADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 4.0 score

8.7High
CVSS 4.0 vector shape for CVE-2026-41673Attack VectorAttack ComplexityAttack RequirementsPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionVS ConfidentialityVS IntegrityVS AvailabilitySS ConfidentialitySS IntegritySS Availability

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Attack Requirements
NonePresent
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NonePassiveActive
VS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
VS Integrity
HighLowNone
VS Availability
HighLowNone
SS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
SS Integrity
HighLowNone
SS Availability
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Made public.

  3. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  4. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Reported to Red Hat.

  5. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
redhat-SADP@xmldom/xmldom: xmldom: xmldom: Denial of Service via deeply nested XML documents
other:Red Hat severity ratingcvssV3_1
  • 2026-05-07T05:02:01.500Z: Reported to Red Hat.
  • 2026-05-07T03:40:28.378Z: Made public.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
xmldomxmldomxmldom <= 0.6.0, @xmldom/xmldom >= 0.9.0, < 0.9.10, @xmldom/xmldom < 0.8.13Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-674CWE-776

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-674 · source CWE mapping

Uncontrolled Recursion

Uncontrolled Recursion represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs
CWE-776 · source CWE mapping

Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs