How severe is CVE-2025-54988?

CVE-2025-54988 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.4, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2025-54988 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-54988?

CVE-2025-54988 affects Apache Tika. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2025-54988?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2025-54988 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-54988 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-25435.

When was CVE-2025-54988 published?

CVE-2025-54988 was published on 2025-08-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-54988

CVE-2025-54988 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Tika with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.4. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-611.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.4)
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (86th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-25435
Weakness: CWE-611
Affected product: Apache Tika
Published: 2025-08-20
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-54988?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2025-54988?: CVE-2025-54988 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.4, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-54988 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-54988?: CVE-2025-54988 affects Apache Tika. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-54988?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2025-54988 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-54988 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-25435.
When was CVE-2025-54988 published?: CVE-2025-54988 was published on 2025-08-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:apache:tika:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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