Apache Tika up to 3.2.1 XFA File xml external entity reference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Apache Tika up to 3.2.1. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component XFA File Handler. Performing a manipulation results in xml external entity reference. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2025-54988. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Apache Tika up to 3.2.1. This affects an unknown code of the component XFA File Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a xml external entity reference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

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.

The advisory is shared at lists.apache.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-54988 since 08/04/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/27/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 260140 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-54988), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 3.2.2 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (260140), EUVD (EUVD-2025-25435) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1883). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• IBM SPSS
• HCL Domino
• Apache Tika
• Open Source Elasticsearch
• Atlassian Bamboo
• Adobe ColdFusion

Productinfo

Vendor

• Apache

Name

• Tika

Version

• 3.2.0
• 3.2.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.apache.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Discussion