XML External Entity (XXE) Injection in Metadata Field Allows Arbitrary File Read

In openEQUELLA before 2026.1, the XML parser used for item metadata does not disable external entity resolution. A user permitted to create items (CREATE_ITEM) can submit crafted XML to POST /api/item and cause the server to read arbitrary files accessible to the openEQUELLA service, or make requests to attacker-specified locations (SSRF), including cloud instance metadata services.