CVE-2020-26708 — requests-xml
HIGHCVE-2020-26708 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in requests-xml. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.
requests-xml XML External Entity Injection vulnerability
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2020-26708.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
requests-xmlReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
requests-xml v0.2.3 was discovered to contain an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted XML file.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | requests-xml | all versions | No fix |
Affected Products
requests-xmlrequests-xml_projectDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for requests-xml, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of requests-xml for CVE-2020-26708. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-26708 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.