xmldom: Processing Instruction Target Injection Bypasses requireWellFormed
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat.
Summary
xmldom is a pure JavaScript W3C standard-based (XML DOM Level 2 Core) DOMParser and XMLSerializer module. Prior to @xmldom/xmldom versions 0.8.15 and 0.9.12, and in xmldom version 0.6.0 and earlier, Document.createProcessingInstruction(target, data) in lib/dom.js accepts an unvalidated target, while the requireWellFormed: true serializer checks only for a colon and the reserved case-insensitive xml name on 0.9.x and performs no target check on 0.8.x. Because serialization emits <?target data?>, a target containing >, ?, whitespace, or another invalid XML-name character can break the processing-instruction boundary and inject XML structure. This issue is fixed in @xmldom/xmldom versions 0.8.15 and 0.9.12; no fixed version is available for xmldom.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xmldom | xmldom | up to 0.6.0 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| xmldom | xmldom | 0.7.0 to before 0.8.15; 0.9.0 to before 0.9.12 | 0.8.15, 0.9.12 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | @xmldom/xmldom (npm) | 0.7.0 to before 0.8.15 | 0.8.15 | Patch available | GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv |
| — | @xmldom/xmldom (npm) | 0.9.0 to before 0.9.12 | 0.9.12 | Patch available | GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv |
| — | xmldom (npm) | up to 0.6.0 | — | No fix listed | GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv |
- xmldom Vendorxmldom Affected up to 0.6.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- xmldom Vendorxmldom Affected 0.7.0 to before 0.8.15; 0.9.0 to before 0.9.12 Fixed in 0.8.15, 0.9.12 Patch available CNA
- @xmldom/xmldom (npm) Vendor— Affected 0.7.0 to before 0.8.15 Fixed in 0.8.15 Patch available GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv
- @xmldom/xmldom (npm) Vendor— Affected 0.9.0 to before 0.9.12 Fixed in 0.9.12 Patch available GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv
- xmldom (npm) Vendor— Affected up to 0.6.0 Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv
Remediation
- Fix · CNA xmldom (@xmldom) Fixed in 0.8.15, 0.9.12
- Fix · GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv @xmldom/xmldom (npm) Fixed in 0.8.15 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv @xmldom/xmldom (npm) Fixed in 0.9.12 Advisory →
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2026:69248 Released 2026-09-21 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Developer Hub 1.9.9 release.
- Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9 registry.redhat.io/rhdh/rhdh-hub-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhdh/rhdh-rhel9-operator
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Build of Podman Desktop | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:69248 |
Not affected: 6 products
- Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-83616
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv
References
Other 8
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/security/advisories/GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/pull/1071
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/pull/1072
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/commit/1cde3e31a07c41c87cfd368d6946aa477f16b4f9
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/commit/3b694872bcb5c7e3cbadba961a4be2488750ce5b
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/releases/tag/0.8.15
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom/releases/tag/0.9.12
- https://github.com/xmldom/xmldom
More xmldom vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-18728 xmldom allows multiple root nodes in a DOM CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-57717 xmldom: requireWellFormed DocType publicId/systemId validation is bypassable via an embedded line terminator CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-57716 xmldom: requireWellFormed element/attribute name validation is bypassable via an embedded line terminator CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-57714 xmldom: Quadratic-memory consumption CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-57712 xmldom: Quadratic-time attribute deduplication CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-57711 xmldom: HTML raw-text closing-tag case mismatch causes output amplification CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-83616 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-83616 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-c7q8-3ch8-vqpv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-83616 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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