CVE-2026-54082 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.verapdf:validation-model. A fix is available for org.verapdf:validation-model — see the affected versions and patch details below.
veraPDF-validatio: Use of Default `DocumentBuilderFactory` leads to XXE When Processing Untrusted PDFs
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-54082.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-54082 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 397,508 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
org.verapdf:validation-model☕org.verapdf:validation-model☕org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta☕org.verapdf:validation-model-jakartaReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
veraPDF-validation has an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in two PDF parsing paths (validate and GFPDAcroForm.getdynamicRender()). A malicious/crafted PDF supplied to a veraPDF consumer can lead to the expansion of external entities while parsing rich-text annotation/form-field values or XFA configurations, allowing local file disclosure and potentially outbound network requests depending on the runtime (host) environment.
Details
Consumers that utilise either the PDFAValidator.validate(...) or GFPDAcroForm(acroForm).getdynamicRender() APIs to process untrusted PDFs are vulnerable to XXE exploits.
Both vulnerable paths share the same root cause: the underlying source binds a default DocumentBuilderFactory and immediately calls newDocumentBuilder() which does not disable parsing of DTDs, external entities, XInclude, or external resource access directives in XML schemas.
This is an XXE vulnerability affecting applications that use veraPDF's affected APIs to parse or validate untrusted PDFs.
An attacker could craft a PDF that includes crafted XML external entities that when processed by vulnerable consumers could lead to local file disclosure and server-side outbound requests to attacker-controlled endpoints, depending on JVM XML parser behavior and network controls on the host.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model | ≥ 1.17.35&&< 1.30.2 | 1.30.2org.verapdf:validation-model:1.30.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model | ≥ 1.31.1&&< 1.31.71 | 1.31.71org.verapdf:validation-model:1.31.71 |
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta | ≥ 1.17.35&&< 1.30.2 | 1.30.2org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta:1.30.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta | ≥ 1.31.1&&< 1.31.71 | 1.31.71org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta:1.31.71 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.verapdf:validation-model, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.verapdf:validation-model to 1.30.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-54082 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-54082 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.