CVE-2025-54988 Apache Tika PDF parser module: XXE vulnerability in PDFParser's handling of XFA
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-54988?
CVE-2025-54988 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Tika PDF parser module, published on 20 Aug 2025.
Official description
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.
Weakness: CWE-611
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-54988?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-module and org.apache.tika:tika-parsers. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-module Maven | From 1.13 | 3.2.2 |
org.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-module Maven | From 1.13 | 3.2.2 |
org.apache.tika:tika-parsers Maven | From 1.13 | 2.0.0-ALPHA |
org.apache.tika:tika-parsers Maven | From 1.13 | 2.0.0-ALPHA |
Products include Apache Tika.
How do I fix CVE-2025-54988?
Upgrade org.apache.tika:tika-parser-pdf-module to 3.2.2 or later.
Is CVE-2025-54988 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-54988 exists.
Public exploit code: 1 Metasploit module, 1 Nuclei template and 2 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in Apache Tika PDF parser module
- CVE-2019-10088 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Apache Tika
- CVE-2025-66516 Apache Tika has XXE vulnerability
- CVE-2018-1335 Command injection in org.apache.tika:tika-core
- CVE-2019-10094 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Apache Tika
- CVE-2016-4434 Apache Tika does not properly initialize the XML parser or choose handlers
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2025-54988, GHSA-p72g-pv48-7w9x, MINI-3m3r-3cr9-jr5g, MINI-797w-jf5h-wfww, MINI-cpw7-fq7j-vwhp, MINI-f842-4fjq-gv2w and 9 more.