Accessibility Options |  Sitemap |  Contact Us
   
 
 
 
HOME space ABOUTCERTIn space KNOWLEDGEBASE space TRAINING space ADVISORIES space VULNOTES space space Facebook space x space insta space youtube space Linkedin
WLine
DigitalIndia
WLine
csk
WLine
Full Member FIRST
Line
Operational Member TFCSIRT
Line
Accredited Member APCERT
Line
Global Research Partner APWG
Line
Associate Partner Charter
Line
CNA
WLine
 Directions by CERT-In under  Section 70B, Information  Technology Act 2000
WLine
 Guidelines on Information  Security Practices for  Government Entities
WLine
 15 Elemental Cyber NEW
 Defense Controls for Micro,
 Small, and Medium Enterprises
 (MSMEs)
WLine
 Technical Guidelines on NEW  SBOM, QBOM & CBOM, AIBOM
 and HBOM Version 2.0
WLine
 Cyber Security Guidelines for
 Smart City Infrastructure NEW
WLine
 Cyber Security Framework
 and Guidelines for Space NEW
 including Satellite
 Communication
About CERT-in
Line
point point Client's /Citizen's Charter
Line
point point Roles & Functions
Line
point point Advisory Committee
Line
point point Act/Rules/Regulations
Line
point point Internal Complaint Committee         (ICC) 
Line
point point RFC2350 
line
point point Press  
Line
point point Tender 
Line
point point Subscribe Mailing List
Line
point point Contact Us
Line
Line
Reporting
point
 Incident Reporting
point
Line
point
 Vulnerability Reporting
point
Line
point
 Feedback
point
Line
KnowledgeBase
Line
point Point Guidelines
Line
point Point Presentations
Line
point Point White Papers 
Line
point Point Annual Report 
Line
Line
Line
line
Line
line
line
Advisories
Line
VulnerabilityNotes
Line
RelatedLinks
Line
point Point World CERTs
Line
point point Antivirus Resources
line
point point FAQ
line
line
Line
Line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
line
spacer
Home - Vulnerability NotesPrint
point
CERT-In Vulnerability Note CIVN-2025-0197
XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in Apache Tika PDF parser module

Original Issue Date:August 27, 2025

Severity Rating: CRITICAL

Software Affected

  • Apache Tika PDF parser module Versions 1.13 through 3.2.1

Overview

A vulnerability has been reported in Apache Tika's PDF parser module that may allow an attacker to access sensitive data or trigger Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), enabling unauthorised requests to internal services or third-party systems.

Target Audience:
All organisations and individuals using Apache Tika.

Risk Assessment:
High risk of data exposure, Server-Side Request Forgery.

Impact Assessment:
Compromise of confidentiality and security of internal systems.

Description

Apache Tika is a content analysis toolkit designed to detect, parse, and extract text and metadata from a wide range of file formats for indexing, search, and data processing applications.

A critical vulnerability exists in the PDF parser module due to inadequate restrictions on XML External Entity (XXE) references. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting a crafted XFA (XML Forms Architecture) file embedded within a PDF.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow the attacker to access sensitive data or trigger Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), issuing unauthorized requests to internal services or third-party systems.

Solution

  • Upgrade to Apache Tika 3.2.2 or later

Vendor Information

Apache Tika
https://lists.apache.org/thread/8xn3rqy6kz5b3l1t83kcofkw0w4mmj1w

References

Apache Tika
https://lists.apache.org/thread/8xn3rqy6kz5b3l1t83kcofkw0w4mmj1w

CVE Name
CVE-2025-54988

Disclaimer

The information provided herein is on "as is" basis, without warranty of any kind.

Contact Information

Email: info@cert-in.org.in
Phone: +91-11-22902657

Postal address

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Government of India
Electronics Niketan
6, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi - 110 003
India

 
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team - CERT-In, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.
Website Policies |  Terms of Use |  Help Last Updated On May 19, 2026