What happened
Docling simplifies document processing by parsing diverse formats and providing integrations with the generative AI ecosystem. From 2.0.0 until 2.131.0, the HTML, JATS, OpenDocument spreadsheet, and BoxNote backends, including docling/backend/html_backend.py, docling/backend/jats_backend.py, and docling/backend/boxnote_backend.py, accept the rowspan and colspan attribute values without an upper bound and execute loops or allocate a table grid proportional to the declared span. A very small document can therefore cause sustained CPU use or multi-gigabyte memory allocation, and the document_timeout setting does not interrupt the single backend conversion call. Export through the TableData.grid property can further materialize the oversized grid. This issue is fixed in 2.131.0.
Affected versions
docling: >= 2.0.0, < 2.131.0; >= 2.92.0, < 2.131.0 Fixed: See vendor advisory.
Why it matters
Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.
Detection & mitigation
- Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
- Review affected product exposure and access logs.