docx4j: Stack Overflow via Cyclic `w:basedOn` Style Chain leads to Denial of Service

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-53752
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-09-14 18:17:51 UTC
Updated2026-09-14 18:17:51 UTC
Descriptiondocx4j is an open source Java library for creating, editing, and saving OpenXML packages, including DOCX, PPTX, and XLSX files. Prior to 11.5.14, PropertyResolver and adjacent helpers recursively follow the WordprocessingML w:basedOn style inheritance chain without cycle detection. A well-formed DOCX containing mutually based styles causes unbounded recursion in PropertyResolver.fillPPrStack and related effective-style resolution paths, resulting in StackOverflowError. Server-side conversion and table-of-contents processing of an untrusted document can terminate a worker thread, degrade a thread pool, or deny service, although isolation in disposable workers or safe containment of StackOverflowError can reduce the practical effect. The fix adds cyclic-style tracking and CyclicStylesException handling. This issue is fixed in version 11.5.14.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-674 | CWE-770 | CWE-674 CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion | CWE-770 CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Plutext Docx4j affected < 11.5.14 Not specified
CNA Org.docx4j Docx4j-core affected < 11.5.14 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/plutext/docx4j/commit/e06cafb334089f0be02e1c63a7c0a602bd44bf06 [email protected] github.com
github.com/plutext/docx4j/security/advisories/GHSA-gc95-3vw8-vg43 [email protected] github.com
github.com/plutext/docx4j/releases/tag/docx4j-11.5.14 [email protected] github.com
github.com/plutext/docx4j/commit/47b528c7dd4c81bcfc8e7fe9df7610c60446f95f [email protected] github.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

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