<!DOCTYPE html>
<svg>
  <rect width="100" height="100" fill="green"/>
  <defs>
    <rect id="a" width="100" height="100" fill="red"/>
  </defs>
  <use xlink:href="#a"/>
</svg>
<script>
onload = function() {
  var use = document.querySelector('use');
  use.setAttributeNS('http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink', 'xlink:href', 'invalid-remote.svg');
  document.getElementById('a').setAttribute('width', 200);
  use.setAttribute('width', 100);
}
</script>