diff --git a/jollyday-jackson/src/main/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapper.java b/jollyday-jackson/src/main/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapper.java
index 30602ebbb..7e58784c7 100644
--- a/jollyday-jackson/src/main/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapper.java
+++ b/jollyday-jackson/src/main/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapper.java
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 
 import de.focus_shift.jollyday.jackson.mapping.Configuration;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.NonNull;
+import tools.jackson.dataformat.xml.XmlFactory;
 import tools.jackson.dataformat.xml.XmlMapper;
 
+import javax.xml.stream.XMLInputFactory;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 
 import static tools.jackson.databind.PropertyNamingStrategies.UPPER_CAMEL_CASE;
@@ -29,9 +31,23 @@ public class JacksonXMLMapper {
 
   private static class JacksonMapperCreator {
     private @NonNull XmlMapper create() {
-      return XmlMapper.builder()
+      return XmlMapper.builder(XmlFactory.builder().xmlInputFactory(createHardenedXmlInputFactory()).build())
         .propertyNamingStrategy(UPPER_CAMEL_CASE)
         .build();
     }
+
+    /**
+     * StAX factory hardened against XXE. DTD processing and external entity resolution are
+     * disabled, so a {@code <!DOCTYPE ...>} declaration (and any external or parameter entity it
+     * might carry) is rejected rather than resolved. The protection is configured explicitly here
+     * instead of relying on the defaults of whichever StAX provider happens to be on the classpath,
+     * which could change if a consumer swaps or downgrades that provider.
+     */
+    private @NonNull XMLInputFactory createHardenedXmlInputFactory() {
+      final XMLInputFactory factory = XMLInputFactory.newFactory();
+      factory.setProperty(XMLInputFactory.SUPPORT_DTD, false);
+      factory.setProperty(XMLInputFactory.IS_SUPPORTING_EXTERNAL_ENTITIES, false);
+      return factory;
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/jollyday-jackson/src/test/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapperTest.java b/jollyday-jackson/src/test/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapperTest.java
index 2a1b5d1a1..5d7b3cdd8 100644
--- a/jollyday-jackson/src/test/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapperTest.java
+++ b/jollyday-jackson/src/test/java/de/focus_shift/jollyday/jackson/JacksonXMLMapperTest.java
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 package de.focus_shift.jollyday.jackson;
 
 import de.focus_shift.jollyday.jackson.mapping.Configuration;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.ValueSource;
 
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
 import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatThrownBy;
 
 class JacksonXMLMapperTest {
 
@@ -18,4 +22,17 @@ void unmarshalRealResource(String holidayFileName) {
     final Configuration configuration = sut.unmarshallConfiguration(inputStream);
     assertThat(configuration.getHolidays()).isNotNull();
   }
+
+  @Test
+  void rejectsXmlWithDoctypeToPreventXxe() {
+    final JacksonXMLMapper sut = new JacksonXMLMapper();
+    final String maliciousXml =
+      "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n"
+        + "<!DOCTYPE Configuration [<!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM \"file:///etc/passwd\">]>\n"
+        + "<Configuration hierarchy=\"test\" description=\"&xxe;\"></Configuration>";
+    final InputStream inputStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(maliciousXml.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+
+    assertThatThrownBy(() -> sut.unmarshallConfiguration(inputStream))
+      .isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class);
+  }
 }