diff --git a/lib/saxes.js b/lib/saxes.js
index 7a06a718..2493ec0f 100644
--- a/lib/saxes.js
+++ b/lib/saxes.js
@@ -672,6 +672,9 @@ class SAXParser {
           if (c === "&") {
             this.state = S_ATTRIB_VALUE_ENTITY_Q;
           }
+          else if (c === "<") {
+            this.fail("Invalid character.");
+          }
           else {
             this.attribValue += c;
           }
@@ -712,6 +715,9 @@ class SAXParser {
           if (c === "&") {
             this.state = S_ATTRIB_VALUE_ENTITY_U;
           }
+          else if (c === "<") {
+            this.fail("Invalid character.");
+          }
           else {
             this.attribValue += c;
           }