How severe is CVE-2021-32796?

CVE-2021-32796 has a CVSS score of 5.3/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-32796?

CVE-2021-32796 affects the following packages: xmldom (npm), @xmldom/xmldom (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2021-32796?

A fix is available for CVE-2021-32796; check the affected-versions list above or the advisory for the patched release of xmldom, then make sure no transitive dependency still pins the vulnerable range.

How do I detect CVE-2021-32796 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for xmldom, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-32796 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2021-32796 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-32796 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-32796?

CVE-2021-32796 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.4%, placing it in the 72th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-32796?

CVE-2021-32796 is classified as CWE-116 (CWE-116), CWE-91 (CWE-91). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-32796 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-32796 was published on July 27, 2021 and was last updated on October 20, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2021-32796 — xmldom

MEDIUMFix: xmldom/xmldom@7b4b743

CVE-2021-32796 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-116 vulnerability in xmldom. A fix is available for xmldom — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Misinterpretation of malicious XML input

Also known asGHSA-5fg8-2547-mr8q

Published

Jul 27, 2021

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

1 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs72th percentile — riskier than 72% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

2 pkgs affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

2Kother npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

xmldomnpm

1.6Mdownloads / week

@xmldom/xmldomnpm

86.7Mdownloads / week

Description

Impact

xmldom versions 0.6.0 and older do not correctly escape special characters when serializing elements removed from their ancestor. This may lead to unexpected syntactic changes during XML processing in some downstream applications.

Patches

Update to one of the fixed versions of @xmldom/xmldom (>=0.7.0)

See issue #271 for the status of publishing xmldom to npm or join #270 for Q&A/discussion until it's resolved.

Workarounds

Downstream applications can validate the input and reject the maliciously crafted documents.

References

Similar to this one reported on the Go standard library:

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in xmldom/xmldom
Email us: send an email to all addresses that are shown by npm owner ls @xmldom/xmldom

Affected Packages

2 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`xmldom`	all versions	No fix
📦npm	`@xmldom/xmldom`	all versions	0.7.0`npm install @xmldom/xmldom@0.7.0`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

xmldomxmldom_project

< 0.7.0

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for xmldom, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
A fix is available for CVE-2021-32796; check the affected-versions list above or the advisory for the patched release of xmldom, then make sure no transitive dependency still pins the vulnerable range.
Workarounds
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.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate

Workaround published by Red Hat

Applications using the vulnerable version of xmldom should properly validate the inputs and reject maliciously formed documents.

Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2021-32796 (CC BY 4.0)

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact xmldom versions 0.6.0 and older do not correctly escape special characters when serializing elements removed from their ancestor. This may lead to unexpected syntactic changes during XML processing in some downstream applications. ### Patches Update to one of the fixed versions of `@xmldom/xmldom` (`>=0.7.0`) See issue #271 for the status of publishing `xmldom` to npm or join #270 for Q&A/discussion until it's resolved. ### Workarounds Downstream applications can validate the input and reject the maliciously crafted documents. ### References Similar to this one reported on the