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Default Value

10000

Overview of jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit

The java system property jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit sets an upper limit on the number of attributes an XML element may have.

Here's an example of an XML document with a single tag, with an attribute named attribute:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<tag attribute="value" />

In our example above, we cannot have more attributes in that tag than the jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit system property allows.

Security Tip

Be careful when setting jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit that you do not to set it too high. If you set jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit too high, it may result in resource exhaustion, or a denial of service.

Error Message

You may see the following error message when you encounter the element attribute limit:

Element "tagName" has more than "10000" attributes, "10000" is the limit imposed by the JDK.

Related System Properties

Here are some other XML java system properties:

• java.xml.config.file
• javax.xml.accessExternalDTD
• jdk.xml.enableExtensionFunctions
• jdk.xml.entityExpansionLimit
• jdk.xml.maxXMLNameLimit

References

• Oracle JAXP Security Guide

Set Via jaxp.properties

The jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit can be specified in the jaxp.properties file, typically located in jvm's conf/jaxp.properties of your JVM. You can also create your own jaxp.properties file which can be set via the java.xml.config.file java system property.

Supported Since

Java has supported the jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit system property since version 1.5.

Setting jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit on Startup

You can set the jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit java system property during startup of the java runtime using the -D command line argument:

java -Djdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit=1000 MyAppMain

You may also be able to specify jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit via the JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS environment variable:

JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS=-Djdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit=1000

Setting / Reading jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit at Runtime

You can set jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit at runtime with the following Java code:

System.setProperty("jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit", "1000");

WARNING: Depending on the property and JVM version using setProperty may or may not work if the JDK Java class that uses this variable has already been loaded. The value of the jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit system property may be cached within an internal private static variable of the implementing class.

To read the value of jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit at runtime, you can use this Java code:

String propertyValue = System.getProperty("jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit");
if (propertyValue != null) {
    System.out.println("jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit = " + propertyValue);
} else {
    System.out.println("jdk.xml.elementAttributeLimit was null");
}

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