diff --git a/saml-core/src/main/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtil.java b/saml-core/src/main/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtil.java
index 3e811e201aa..5a78427e931 100755
--- a/saml-core/src/main/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtil.java
+++ b/saml-core/src/main/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtil.java
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ public class DocumentUtil {
 
     private static final PicketLinkLogger logger = PicketLinkLoggerFactory.getLogger();
 
-    private static DocumentBuilderFactory documentBuilderFactory;
+    private static volatile DocumentBuilderFactory documentBuilderFactory;
 
     public static final String feature_external_general_entities = "http://xml.org/sax/features/external-general-entities";
     public static final String feature_external_parameter_entities = "http://xml.org/sax/features/external-parameter-entities";
@@ -395,31 +395,37 @@ public class DocumentUtil {
      * @return
      */
     private static DocumentBuilderFactory getDocumentBuilderFactory() {
-        boolean tccl_jaxp = SystemPropertiesUtil.getSystemProperty(GeneralConstants.TCCL_JAXP, "false")
-                .equalsIgnoreCase("true");
-        ClassLoader prevTCCL = SecurityActions.getTCCL();
         if (documentBuilderFactory == null) {
-            try {
-                if (tccl_jaxp) {
-                    SecurityActions.setTCCL(DocumentUtil.class.getClassLoader());
-                }
-                documentBuilderFactory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
-                documentBuilderFactory.setNamespaceAware(true);
-                documentBuilderFactory.setXIncludeAware(false);
-                String feature = "";
-                try {
-                    feature = feature_disallow_doctype_decl;
-                    documentBuilderFactory.setFeature(feature, true);
-                    feature = feature_external_general_entities;
-                    documentBuilderFactory.setFeature(feature, false);
-                    feature = feature_external_parameter_entities;
-                    documentBuilderFactory.setFeature(feature, false);
-                } catch (ParserConfigurationException e) {
-                    throw logger.parserFeatureNotSupported(feature);
-                }
-            } finally {
-                if (tccl_jaxp) {
-                    SecurityActions.setTCCL(prevTCCL);
+            synchronized(DocumentUtil.class) {
+                if (documentBuilderFactory == null) {
+                    ClassLoader prevTCCL = SecurityActions.getTCCL();
+                    boolean tccl_jaxp = SystemPropertiesUtil.getSystemProperty(GeneralConstants.TCCL_JAXP, "false")
+                            .equalsIgnoreCase("true");
+                    try {
+                        if (tccl_jaxp) {
+                            SecurityActions.setTCCL(DocumentUtil.class.getClassLoader());
+                        }
+                        DocumentBuilderFactory documentBuilderFactory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
+                        documentBuilderFactory.setNamespaceAware(true);
+                        documentBuilderFactory.setXIncludeAware(false);
+                        String feature = "";
+                        try {
+                            feature = feature_disallow_doctype_decl;
+                            documentBuilderFactory.setFeature(feature, true);
+                            feature = feature_external_general_entities;
+                            documentBuilderFactory.setFeature(feature, false);
+                            feature = feature_external_parameter_entities;
+                            documentBuilderFactory.setFeature(feature, false);
+                        } catch (ParserConfigurationException e) {
+                            throw logger.parserFeatureNotSupported(feature);
+                        }
+                        // only place the fully initialized factory in the instance
+                        DocumentUtil.documentBuilderFactory = documentBuilderFactory;
+                    } finally {
+                        if (tccl_jaxp) {
+                            SecurityActions.setTCCL(prevTCCL);
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -455,4 +461,4 @@ public class DocumentUtil {
         }
         return null;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/saml-core/src/test/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtilTest.java b/saml-core/src/test/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtilTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..79da15fc407
--- /dev/null
+++ b/saml-core/src/test/java/org/keycloak/saml/common/util/DocumentUtilTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+package org.keycloak.saml.common.util;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.ConcurrentModificationException;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.BrokenBarrierException;
+import java.util.concurrent.CyclicBarrier;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+import javax.xml.parsers.ParserConfigurationException;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class DocumentUtilTest {
+  /**
+   * Verifies that {@link DocumentUtil#getDocumentBuilder()} can be called from many threads
+   * without triggering the race condition described in
+   * <a href="https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/issues/44438">issue #44438</a>.
+   * <p>
+   * The original implementation of {@code DocumentUtil#getDocumentBuilderFactory()} used a
+   * non-thread-safe lazy initialization pattern which could throw a
+   * {@link java.util.ConcurrentModificationException} when accessed concurrently.
+   * This test starts {@code numThreads} threads that wait on a shared {@link CyclicBarrier}
+   * and then all call {@link DocumentUtil#getDocumentBuilder()} at (roughly) the same time.
+   * Any {@link ConcurrentModificationException} is captured in the {@code failure} reference
+   * and will cause the final assertion to fail.
+   * </p>
+   *
+   * <p>
+   * The underlying bug is timing dependent, so this test is probabilistic: on the buggy
+   * implementation it may still pass most of the time. To increase the likelihood of
+   * reproducing the failure with the buggy code, you can temporarily inject a small,
+   * randomized delay into {@code DocumentUtil#getDocumentBuilderFactory()} after the
+   * {@code (documentBuilderFactory == null)} check, for example:
+   * </p>
+   *
+   * <pre>{@code
+   * try {
+   *     Thread.sleep(new SecureRandom().nextInt(100));
+   * } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+   *     throw new RuntimeException(e);
+   * }
+   * }</pre>
+   *
+   * <p>
+   * With this artificial delay in place, the buggy implementation is much more likely to
+   * throw a {@link ConcurrentModificationException} in this test, demonstrating the race
+   * condition. The fixed implementation should make this test pass reliably, even when
+   * such a delay is present.
+   * </p>
+   */
+  @Test
+  public void testNoRaceConditionWhenCreatingDocumentBuilder() throws Throwable {
+    // given
+    AtomicReference<Throwable> failure = new AtomicReference<>();
+    int numThreads = 100;
+
+
+    // when
+    List<Thread> threads = createThreads(numThreads, failure);
+    joinThreads(numThreads, threads);
+
+    // then
+    if (failure.get() != null) {
+        throw failure.get();
+    }
+  }
+
+  private static void joinThreads(int numThreads, List<Thread> threads) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < numThreads; i++) {
+      try {
+        threads.get(i).join();
+      } catch (InterruptedException ignore) {
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  private static List<Thread> createThreads(int numThreads, AtomicReference<Throwable> failure) {
+    CyclicBarrier barrier = new CyclicBarrier(numThreads);
+    List<Thread> threads = new ArrayList<>();
+    for (int i = 0; i < numThreads; i++) {
+      Thread thread = new Thread(() -> {
+        try {
+          barrier.await();
+          DocumentUtil.getDocumentBuilder();
+        } catch (ParserConfigurationException | InterruptedException | BrokenBarrierException e) {
+          throw new RuntimeException(e);
+        } catch (ConcurrentModificationException e) {
+          failure.set(e);
+        }
+      });
+      threads.add(thread);
+      thread.start();
+    }
+    return threads;
+  }
+}