A essential safety vulnerability has been found in Apache Tika’s PDF parser module that would allow attackers to entry delicate information and set off malicious requests to inner techniques.
The flaw, designated as CVE-2025-54988, impacts a number of variations of the broadly used doc parsing library and has been assigned a essential severity ranking by safety researchers.
Key Takeaways1. The XXE vulnerability in Apache Tika PDF parser permits information theft through malicious XFA-embedded PDFs.2. Permits file entry, inner community reconnaissance, and SSRF assaults.3. Improve instantly – impacts a number of enterprise packages.
Overview of XXE Vulnerability
The vulnerability stems from an XML Exterior Entity (XXE) injection weak point in Apache Tika’s PDF parser module (org.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-module).
Safety researchers Paras Jain and Yakov Shafranovich of Amazon found that variations 1.13 by means of 3.2.1 are vulnerable to exploitation by means of specifically crafted XFA (XML Kinds Structure) recordsdata embedded inside PDF paperwork.
The assault vector includes manipulating XFA content material inside PDF recordsdata to set off XXE processing, which might result in unauthorized information disclosure and server-side request forgery assaults.
XFA expertise, developed by Adobe, permits PDF paperwork to include dynamic kind content material utilizing XML buildings. Nevertheless, the improper dealing with of exterior entity references in these XML buildings creates a pathway for malicious exploitation.
The vulnerability impacts a number of Apache Tika packages that rely upon the PDF parser module, together with tika-parsers-standard-modules, tika-parsers-standard-package, tika-app, tika-grpc, and tika-server-standard.
This broad impression considerably will increase the potential assault floor throughout enterprise environments that depend on Tika for doc processing capabilities.
Danger FactorsDetailsAffected Merchandise– Apache Tika PDF parser module (org.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-module) 1.13 by means of 3.2.1- tika-parsers-standard-modules- tika-parsers-standard-package- tika-app- tika-grpc- tika-server-standardImpactUnauthorized entry to delicate dataExploit Stipulations– Means to submit malicious PDF file to Tika parser- PDF should include crafted XFA (XML Kinds Structure) content- Goal system operating weak Tika version- Minimal person interplay requiredSeverity Vital
Mitigations
Safety specialists emphasize the urgency of addressing this vulnerability as a result of its potential for delicate information exfiltration and inner community reconnaissance.
Attackers may exploit the XXE weak point to learn native recordsdata, entry inner community assets, or drive the weak system to make requests to attacker-controlled servers, doubtlessly resulting in information leakage or additional system compromise.
Organizations utilizing affected variations ought to instantly improve to Apache Tika model 3.2.2, which accommodates the required safety fixes to deal with the XXE vulnerability.
The Apache Software program Basis launched this patched model particularly to mitigate the recognized safety threat.
System directors must also implement extra safety measures, together with enter validation for PDF uploads, community segmentation to restrict potential XXE exploitation impression, and monitoring for suspicious XML processing actions.
Given the essential nature of this vulnerability and the widespread use of Apache Tika in enterprise doc processing workflows, safety groups ought to prioritize this replace of their vulnerability administration packages.
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