VASTlint
VMAP-1.0-adtaguri-cdata

VMAP-1.0-adtaguri-cdata

`<AdTagURI>` URI must be contained within a CDATA block

ErrorVMAPIAB VMAP 1.0.1 §2.3.2VMAP 1.0 (all VMAP documents)

Short answer

The URI inside <AdTagURI> must be wrapped in a CDATA section. Without CDATA, special characters in the URL (such as &) will break XML parsing.

Why this matters in production

This rule is usually a delivery blocker. Many players, SDKs, and ad servers will discard the response or skip the affected creative once this condition is hit. VMAP rules validate the ad break schedule envelope. Malformed break timing, wrong namespace declarations, or invalid AdSource content prevent players from resolving any of the ads in the playlist. Affected scope: VMAP 1.0 (all VMAP documents).

Invalid

<vmap:AdTagURI templateType="vast3">
  https://ads.example.com/vast?foo=1&bar=2
</vmap:AdTagURI>

Valid

<vmap:AdTagURI templateType="vast3">
  <![CDATA[https://ads.example.com/vast?foo=1&bar=2]]>
</vmap:AdTagURI>
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Other VMAP rules

VMAP-1.0-root-versionRoot `<VMAP>` element must have a version attributeVMAP-1.0-root-version-value`<VMAP>` version attribute should be `"1.0"` — the only published VMAP versionVMAP-1.0-root-namespace`<VMAP>` should declare the VMAP namespace URI http://www.iab.net/videosuite/vmapVMAP-1.0-root-unknown-child`<VMAP>` may only contain `<AdBreak>` and `<Extensions>` elementsVMAP-1.0-adbreak-timeoffset`<AdBreak>` must have a timeOffset attributeVMAP-1.0-adbreak-timeoffset-format`<AdBreak>` timeOffset must be hh:mm:ss[.mmm], n%, `"start"`, `"end"`, or #mVMAP-1.0-adbreak-breaktype`<AdBreak>` must have a breakType attributeVMAP-1.0-adbreak-breaktype-value`<AdBreak>` breakType must be a comma-separated list of `"linear"`, `"nonlinear"`, or `"display"`