diff --git a/docs/changes/2.x/2.0.0.md b/docs/changes/2.x/2.0.0.md
index 2d4b3b9cca..bb4eadec99 100644
--- a/docs/changes/2.x/2.0.0.md
+++ b/docs/changes/2.x/2.0.0.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 - bug: TemplateProcessor fix multiline values [@gimler](https://github.com/gimler) fixing [#268](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/issues/268), [#2323](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/issues/2323) and [#2486](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/issues/2486) in [#2522](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/pull/2522)
 - 32-bit Problem in PasswordEncoder [@oleibman](https://github.com/oleibman) fixing [#2550](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/issues/2550) in [#2551](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/pull/2551)
 - Typo : Fix hardcoded macro chars in TemplateProcessor method [@glafarge](https://github.com/glafarge) in [#2618](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/pull/2618)
+- XML Reader : Prevent fatal errors when opening corrupt files or "doc" files [@mmcev106](https://github.com/mmcev106) in [#2626](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PHPWord/pull/2626)
 
 ### Miscellaneous
 
diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Shared/XMLReader.php b/src/PhpWord/Shared/XMLReader.php
index 1c95a64426..e836607d29 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Shared/XMLReader.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Shared/XMLReader.php
@@ -61,7 +61,15 @@ public function getDomFromZip($zipFile, $xmlFile)
         }
 
         $zip = new ZipArchive();
-        $zip->open($zipFile);
+        $openStatus = $zip->open($zipFile);
+        if ($openStatus !== true) {
+            /**
+             * Throw an exception since making further calls on the ZipArchive would cause a fatal error.
+             * This prevents fatal errors on corrupt archives and attempts to open old "doc" files.
+             */
+            throw new Exception("The archive failed to load with the following error code: $openStatus");
+        }
+
         $content = $zip->getFromName(ltrim($xmlFile, '/'));
         $zip->close();
 
diff --git a/tests/PhpWordTests/Shared/XMLReaderTest.php b/tests/PhpWordTests/Shared/XMLReaderTest.php
index 4cbe92a5e2..cc15c85f01 100644
--- a/tests/PhpWordTests/Shared/XMLReaderTest.php
+++ b/tests/PhpWordTests/Shared/XMLReaderTest.php
@@ -85,6 +85,33 @@ public function testThrowsExceptionOnNonExistingArchive(): void
         $reader->getDomFromZip($archiveFile, 'test.xml');
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Test that read from invalid archive throws exception.
+     */
+    public function testThrowsExceptionOnZipArchiveOpenErrors(): void
+    {
+        /**
+         * @var string
+         */
+        $tempPath = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'PhpWord');
+
+        // Simulate a corrupt archive
+        file_put_contents($tempPath, mt_rand());
+
+        $exceptionMessage = null;
+
+        try {
+            $reader = new XMLReader();
+            $reader->getDomFromZip($tempPath, 'test.xml');
+        } catch (Exception $e) {
+            $exceptionMessage = $e->getMessage();
+        }
+
+        self::assertNotNull($exceptionMessage);
+
+        unlink($tempPath);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Test elements count.
      */