Apache Tika PDF parser module: XXE vulnerability in PDFParser's handling of XFA
Apache Software Foundation · Apache Tika PDF parser module
The Apache Tika PDF parser module (tika-parser-pdf-module) contains an XML External Entity injection flaw in how PDFParser handles XFA content inside PDF files, affecting releases from 1.13 through 3.2.1 on all platforms. An attacker who supplies a crafted PDF containing a malicious XFA file can cause the parser to process external entities, potentially reading sensitive data or triggering requests to internal resources or third-party servers, with no authentication or user interaction required.
Critical XXE in Apache Tika (tika-parser-pdf-module) in Apache Tika 1.13 through and including 3.2.1 on all platforms allows an attacker to carry out XML External Entity injection via a crafted XFA file inside of a PDF. An attacker may be able to read sensitive data or trigger malicious requests to internal resources or third-party servers. Note that the tika-parser-pdf-module is used as a dependency in several Tika packages including at least: tika-parsers-standard-modules, tika-parsers-standard-package, tika-app, tika-grpc and tika-server-standard. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.2, which fixes this issue.
- Exploited
- Yes, in VulnCheck KEV
- Reports
- 0
- Tactics
- 0/15
Exploitation timelineDated milestones for a CVE: when it was disclosed, when exploit code became public, when exploitation was confirmed, and when threat reports named it.
First seen exploited 14 months after disclosure. Public exploit code (Metasploit) was available the same day.
- First seen exploitedVulnCheck KEV evidence+14 mo
Patch historyEarlier and later CVEs in the same code, in date order. It shows when a fix was bypassed or incomplete and which version finally fixed it.
2 related vulnerabilities in the same code over 3 months. The latest fix listed for tika-parsers is 2.0.0.
Linked vulnerabilitiesLinked by evidence that a fix failed or the same code was patched again. Oldest first.
- This CVECVE-2025-54988Tika PDF parser module: XXE vulnerability in PDFParser's…20 Aug 2025
relatedHigh
Why these are linked: Link confidenceHow strong the evidence is that two CVEs are related. High: stated in the CVE text or linked in an advisory, or the same code was patched one release apart. Medium: the same code, or a version step plus a similar description. Low: similar description only.
- Stated in the CVE text
This CVE covers the same vulnerability as in CVE-2025-54988.
- Linked in OSV/GitHub advisoryGHSA-f58c-gq56-vjjf
- Fixed one release later2.0.0-ALPHA → 2.0.0 (org.apache.tika:tika-parsers)
- Similar weakness in the same product (machine-matched)same package + description similarity
- Stated in the CVE text
Fixes in tika-parsersMaven package, by fixed version. Earlier and later fixes in the same package, not necessarily the same bug.
- 1.18CVE-2018-133925 Apr 2018
- 1.20CVE-2018-1719724 Dec 2018
- 1.22CVE-2019-100932 Aug 2019
- 2.0.0-ALPHACVE-2025-5498820 Aug 2025
- 2.0.0CVE-2025-665164 Dec 2025Latest listed
MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. techniques
No techniques linkedNo ATT&CK techniques are linked to this CVE yet. MITRE CTID has not mapped it, and no report passage in the corpus ties it to a technique.
Am I affected? What do I upgrade to?
From GitHub Security Advisories and OSV2 packages in 1 ecosystem. No single main package: each of these ships the affected code.
- Mavenorg.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-moduleAffected: 1.13 up to 3.2.2Upgrade to 3.2.2 or later
- Mavenorg.apache.tika:tika-parsersAffected: 1.13 up to 2.0.0-ALPHAUpgrade to 2.0.0 or later
What security researchers reported
Not named in any threat report yetAlso mentioned in 1 community threat pulse (AlienVault OTX)
Weaker evidencePulses are indicator collections that anyone can publish. A mention is not confirmation of exploitation.
- Actualización Apache update - 25/08/202525 Aug 2025