CVE-2026-44017 — docling
HIGHCVE-2026-44017 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in docling. A fix is available for docling — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Docling: Unsafe Zip Extraction in EasyOCR Model Download
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2026-44017.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-44017 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,145 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
doclingReal-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
Impact
In versions < 2.91.0, The EasyOCR model download functionality extracted ZIP archives without validating member paths, enabling Zip Slip attacks. If an attacker could compromise the model download source (via supply chain attack, DNS spoofing, or MITM), they could write arbitrary files to any location writable by the process, potentially achieving:
- Remote code execution by overwriting Python files or system binaries
- Persistent backdoors by modifying startup scripts or SSH keys
- Data corruption or system compromise
Patches
Fixed in version 2.91.0. The extraction process now validates each archive member path using os.path.realpath() to ensure it remains within the target directory, raising a SecurityError for any path traversal attempts.
Workarounds
Ensure model downloads occur over secure, authenticated channels. Use integrity verification (checksums) for downloaded models. Run the application with minimal file system permissions.
References
- Fix release: v2.91.0
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | docling | all versions | 2.91.0pip install --upgrade 'docling==2.91.0' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for docling, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update docling to 2.91.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-44017 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-44017 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-44017. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
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.
This is an Important vulnerability in Docling, affecting Red Hat OpenShift AI, where the EasyOCR model download functionality is susceptible to Zip Slip attacks. An attacker who compromises the model download source, such as through a supply chain or Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack, could write arbitrary files to the…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 | rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9:1786612637 | RHSA-2026:60520 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-44017 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-44017 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.