CVE-2025-66516
Apache Tika core, Apache Tika parsers, Apache Tika PDF parser module: Update to CVE-2025-54988 to expand scope of artifacts affected
- Published
- Dec 4, 2025
- Updated
- Feb 26, 2026
- Assigning CNA
- apache
- Evidence observed
- Aug 8, 2026
Primary CVSS
nvd · CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HHigh · next 30 days
- Percentile
- 99.8%
- Model date
- Oct 17, 2026
EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a certainty or a measure of impact. Combine it with CVSS, KEV status, exposure and your environment.
Summary
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.
Sources
modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/elasticsearch_tika_xfa_xxe.rb
Metasploit Framework modulesDeclared conditions
- verification: check_declared($.auxiliary_scanner/http/elasticsearch_tika_xfa_xxe.check)
http/cves/2025/CVE-2025-66516.yaml
Nuclei TemplatesDeclared conditions
- network: http($.protocol_keys)
- verification: dsl,regex($.matchers[*].type)
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