DSpace up to 7.6.3/8.1/9.0 Import xml external entity reference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in DSpace up to 7.6.3/8.1/9.0. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the component Import Handler. The manipulation leads to xml external entity reference. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2025-53621. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in DSpace up to 7.6.3/8.1/9.0. This issue affects an unknown functionality of the component Import Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a xml external entity reference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-611. The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

DSpace open source software is a repository application which provides durable access to digital resources. Two related XML External Entity (XXE) injection possibilities impact all versions of DSpace prior to 7.6.4, 8.2, and 9.1. External entities are not disabled when parsing XML files during import of an archive (in Simple Archive Format), either from command-line (`./dspace import` command) or from the "Batch Import (Zip)" user interface feature. External entities are also not explicitly disabled when parsing XML responses from some upstream services (ArXiv, Crossref, OpenAIRE, Creative Commons) used in import from external sources via the user interface or REST API. An XXE injection in these files may result in a connection being made to an attacker's site or a local path readable by the Tomcat user, with content potentially being injected into a metadata field. In the latter case, this may result in sensitive content disclosure, including retrieving arbitrary files or configurations from the server where DSpace is running. The Simple Archive Format (SAF) importer / Batch Import (Zip) is only usable by site administrators (from user interface / REST API) or system administrators (from command-line). Therefore, to exploit this vulnerability, the malicious payload would have to be provided by an attacker and trusted by an administrator, who would trigger the import. The fix is included in DSpace 7.6.4, 8.2, and 9.1. Please upgrade to one of these versions. For those who cannot upgrade immediately, it is possible to manually patch the DSpace backend. One may also apply some best practices, though the protection provided is not as complete as upgrading. Administrators must carefully inspect any SAF archives (they did not construct themselves) before importing. As necessary, affected external services can be disabled to mitigate the ability for payloads to be delivered via external service APIs.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-53621 since 07/07/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploitation requires an enhanced level of successful authentication. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

Upgrading to version 7.6.4, 8.2 or 9.1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2025-21447). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

• DSpace

Version

• 7.6.0
• 7.6.1
• 7.6.2
• 7.6.3
• 8.0
• 8.1
• 9.0

Website

• Product: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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