Re: [xsl] [XSLT 1.0] Avenues for content to enter and exit an XSLT transform?

[James Fuller <james.fuller.2007@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 8:58 PM, Costello, Roger L. <costello@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> There are several avenues for XML content to enter an XSLT transform:
>
> 1. The input XML document that is specified when the XSLT processor is invoked.
>
> 2. The XML obtained using the document() function.
>
> 3. The XML content obtained using the <xsl:input> and <xsl:include> elements.
>
> 4. The XML/text content obtained using external entities.

> Are there any other avenues for content to enter an XSLT transform?

* xsl:param can typically bring in external data

* dtd

* anything that gets expanded during xml parsing (xinclude, etc)

also dont forget about bugs and other side channels ... there has been
precious little real analysis of the various major xml
parsers/processors out there from a security viewpoint and I am
certain with little effort one can find all the typical
vulnerabilities , even in the best processors like saxon.

> There are several avenues for content to exit an XSLT transform:
>
> 1. The output document that is specified when the XSLT processor is invoked.
>
> 2. The content that is output using extension functions, such as saxon:output and xalan:write.
>
> Are there any other avenues for content to exit an XSLT transform?

in xslt 2.0 (xslt v1.1) there can be various ways a document is
generated ... perhaps xsl:message should be considered a 'sink' and
error messages in general emitted by the processor.

hth, James Fuller