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ValidateHTML

Unescaped Special Characters in XML

XML reserves several characters for its syntax: & (starts entity references), < (starts tags), and > (ends tags). When these characters appear in text content or attribute values, they must be replaced with their entity references: &amp; for &, &lt; for <, and &gt; for >. Failing to escape them confuses the parser.

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Why It Matters

A single unescaped & or < in text content causes the XML parser to misinterpret the structure. It may try to read the text as a tag or entity reference, producing cryptic error messages. The entire document becomes unparseable.

Common Causes

  • Putting a raw ampersand in text, for example a company name like Smith & Sons, instead of writing Smith &amp; Sons.
  • Embedding code or math containing < and > directly in element content rather than escaping them or wrapping them in CDATA.
  • Pasting URLs with query strings, where unescaped & separators between parameters break the parser.

Code Examples

Invalid XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<company>
  <name>Smith & Sons</name>
  <motto>We make price < competition</motto>
  <code>if (x > 0 && y < 10)</code>
</company>
Valid XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<company>
  <name>Smith &amp; Sons</name>
  <motto>We make price &lt; competition</motto>
  <code>if (x &gt; 0 &amp;&amp; y &lt; 10)</code>
</company>

How to Fix

  • 1Replace & with &amp; in all text content and attribute values.
  • 2Replace < with &lt; and > with &gt; when they appear in text, not as tag delimiters.
  • 3For large blocks of text with many special characters, use a CDATA section: <![CDATA[...]]>.
  • 4Also escape " as &quot; and ' as &apos; inside attribute values when needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which characters must be escaped in XML?
In text content you must escape & as &amp; and < as &lt;. The > character should be escaped as &gt;, especially after ]]. Inside attribute values you also escape the quote character used to delimit the value, plus & and <.
When should I use CDATA instead of escaping?
Use a CDATA section, written with the marker that opens with the exclamation and CDATA keyword, when a block contains many reserved characters, such as embedded code or HTML. Everything inside is treated as literal text, so you avoid escaping each character by hand.
Does the greater-than sign always need escaping?
A lone > is usually tolerated in text, but the spec requires escaping it as &gt; when it would otherwise follow the sequence that closes a CDATA section. Escaping every > is the safe, portable choice.

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