Overview
In this article, we delve into a recently discovered critical cybersecurity vulnerability (CVE-2025-54988) in Apache Tika’s tika-parser-pdf-module found in versions 1.13 through 3.2.1. This vulnerability has been allocated a high severity score of 9.8 by the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), signifying the potential for significant damage. It affects a broad range of platforms and has serious ramifications, including the potential for system compromise and data leakage if exploited.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-54988
Severity: Critical, with a CVSS score of 9.8
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: An attacker exploiting this vulnerability may be able to read sensitive data, initiate malicious requests to internal resources, or trigger requests to third-party servers.
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Product | Affected Versions
Apache Tika (tika-parser-pdf-module) | 1.13 through 3.2.1
Apache Tika (tika-parsers-standard-modules) | Until 3.2.1
Apache Tika (tika-parsers-standard-package) | Until 3.2.1
Apache Tika (tika-app) | Until 3.2.1
Apache Tika (tika-grpc) | Until 3.2.1
Apache Tika (tika-server-standard) | Until 3.2.1
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability stems from the XML External Entity (XXE) injection flaw present in Apache Tika’s PDF parser module. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by using a crafted XFA file embedded within a PDF to carry out the XXE injection. This would allow the attacker to read sensitive information or initiate malicious requests to internal resources or third-party servers.
Conceptual Example Code
Shown below is a conceptual example of how an attacker might craft an XFA file to exploit the vulnerability:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE foo [<!ELEMENT foo ANY >
<!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd" >]>
<foo>&xxe;</foo>In the above example, the attacker is trying to read the `/etc/passwd` file from the system. This file typically contains user account information, and if the attacker successfully reads this file, they could gain sensitive information about the system’s user accounts.
Recommended Mitigation
The recommended mitigation is to upgrade to Apache Tika version 3.2.2, which contains a fix for this issue. In case immediate patching is not possible, employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation against this vulnerability.