CVE-2026-33349 PUBLISHED

fast-xml-parser: Entity Expansion Limits Bypassed When Set to Zero Due to JavaScript Falsy Evaluation

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 18.03.2026 Published: 24.03.2026 Updated: 25.03.2026

fast-xml-parser allows users to process XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries or callbacks. From version 4.0.0-beta.3 to before version 5.5.7, the DocTypeReader in fast-xml-parser uses JavaScript truthy checks to evaluate maxEntityCount and maxEntitySize configuration limits. When a developer explicitly sets either limit to 0 — intending to disallow all entities or restrict entity size to zero bytes — the falsy nature of 0 in JavaScript causes the guard conditions to short-circuit, completely bypassing the limits. An attacker who can supply XML input to such an application can trigger unbounded entity expansion, leading to memory exhaustion and denial of service. This issue has been patched in version 5.5.7.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS Score: 5.9

Product Status

Vendor NaturalIntelligence
Product fast-xml-parser
Versions
  • Version >= 4.0.0-beta.3, < 5.5.7 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-1284: Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input CWE