CVE-2018-17197 Apache Tika Denial of Service due to Infinite Loop in Tika's SQLite3Parser
Medium 6.5
Published
Updated
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-17197 and fix it if it is affected.
What it is: CVE-2018-17197 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Tika, published on 24 Dec 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-17197 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.apache.tika:tika-parsers (Maven): affected from 1.8; fixed in 1.20
- org.apache.tika:tika-parsers (Maven): affected from 1.8; fixed in 1.20
Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.
Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17197/index.md)
Attackers can cause a denial of service via infinite loop in Apache Tika by providing a crafted SQLite file.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2018-17197?
CVE-2018-17197 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Tika, published on 24 Dec 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
A carefully crafted or corrupt sqlite file can cause an infinite loop in Apache Tika's SQLite3Parser in versions 1.8-1.19.1 of Apache Tika.
Weakness: CWE-835
Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-17197?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.tika:tika-parsers. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.tika:tika-parsers Maven | From 1.8 | 1.20 |
org.apache.tika:tika-parsers Maven | From 1.8 | 1.20 |
Linux distribution packages (38)
spacewalk-backend SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.57.8-3.10.14 |
spacewalk-backend SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.57.8-3.10.14 |
spacewalk-client-tools SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.22.4-3.3.13 |
spacewalk-client-tools SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.22.4-3.3.13 |
spacewalk-proxy-installer SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.6.4-3.6.13 |
spacewalk-proxy-installer SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.6.4-3.6.13 |
spacewalk-web SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.7.12-3.16.12 |
spacewalk-web SUSE:Manager Proxy 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.7.12-3.16.12 |
branch-network-formula SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 0.1.1545038754.c983fa6-3.6.13 |
branch-network-formula SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 0.1.1545038754.c983fa6-3.6.13 |
netty SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 4.1.8.Final-2.7.4 |
netty SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 4.1.8.Final-2.7.4 |
py26-compat-salt SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2016.11.10-6.18.14 |
py26-compat-salt SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2016.11.10-6.18.14 |
python-susemanager-retail SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 1.0.1544459934.07229ad-2.9.13 |
python-susemanager-retail SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 1.0.1544459934.07229ad-2.9.13 |
saltboot-formula SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 0.1.1546527519.591e925-3.9.13 |
saltboot-formula SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 0.1.1546527519.591e925-3.9.13 |
smdba SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 1.6.3-0.3.6.13 |
smdba SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 1.6.3-0.3.6.13 |
spacecmd SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.25.8-3.12.13 |
spacecmd SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.25.8-3.12.13 |
spacewalk-admin SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.4.3-3.3.13 |
spacewalk-admin SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.4.3-3.3.13 |
spacewalk-backend SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.57.8-3.10.14 |
spacewalk-backend SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.57.8-3.10.14 |
spacewalk-branding SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.5.13-3.13.14 |
spacewalk-branding SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.5.13-3.13.14 |
spacewalk-client-tools SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.22.4-3.3.13 |
spacewalk-client-tools SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.22.4-3.3.13 |
spacewalk-java SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.78.18-3.21.1 |
spacewalk-java SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.78.18-3.21.1 |
spacewalk-setup SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.7.6-3.13.13 |
spacewalk-setup SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.7.6-3.13.13 |
spacewalk-utils SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.18.4-3.6.13 |
spacewalk-utils SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.18.4-3.6.13 |
spacewalk-web SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.7.12-3.16.12 |
spacewalk-web SUSE:Manager Server 3.2 | All versions | 2.8.7.12-3.16.12 |
Products include Apache Tika.
How do I fix CVE-2018-17197?
Upgrade org.apache.tika:tika-parsers to 1.20 or later.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2018-17197 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-17197 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apache Tika
- CVE-2019-10088 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Apache Tika
- CVE-2025-66516 Apache Tika has XXE vulnerability
- CVE-2025-54988 Apache Tika PDF parser module: XXE vulnerability in PDFParser's handling of XFA
- CVE-2018-1335 Command injection in org.apache.tika:tika-core
- CVE-2019-10094 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Apache Tika
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2018-17197, GHSA-3448-vfvv-xp9g, SUSE-RU-2019:0341-1, SUSE-SU-2019:0341-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-17197.