A "consensus statement" from the W3C XML Core Working Group on the need for character entities, as well as the means to declare them.

BugTraq reports that an XML eXternal Entity (XXE) attack is possible on applications which parse "XML input from untrusted sources using incorrectly configured XML parser. The application may be coerced to open arbitrary files and/or TCP connections."

This document defines the WS-I Basic Profile, consisting of a set of non-proprietary Web services specifications, along with clarifications to those specifications which promote interoperability.