XXE in Apache Tika
CVE-2025-66516
Critical XXE in Apache Tika tika-core (1.13-3.2.1), tika-pdf-module (2.0.0-3.2.1) and tika-parsers (1.13-1.28.5) modules on all platforms allows an attacker to carry out XML External Entity injection via a crafted XFA file inside of a PDF. This CVE covers the same vulnerability as in CVE-2025-54988. However, this CVE expands the scope of affected packages in two ways. First, while the entrypoint for the vulnerability was the tika-parser-pdf-module as reported in CVE-2025-54988, the vulnerability and its fix were in tika-core. Users who upgraded the tika-parser-pdf-module but did not upgrade tika-core to >= 3.2.2 would still be vulnerable. Second, the original report failed to mention that in the 1.x Tika releases, the PDFParser was in the "org.apache.tika:tika-parsers" module.
Vulnerability class: XXE (XML External Entity)
EPSS: 0.877 (99.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.4 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Apache Tika
- Apache Software Foundation Tika Core — versions 1.13
- Apache Software Foundation Tika Parsers — versions 1.13
- Apache Software Foundation Tika Pdf Parser Module — versions 2.0.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- security@apache.org (vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory)
- security@apache.org (related, Third Party Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-66516?
- CVE-2025-66516 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Tika, classified under Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE). CVSS score: 8.4/10. Published 2025-12-04.
- How severe is CVE-2025-66516?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.4 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-66516 known to be exploited?
- 5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.