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HIGH severity

Apache Tika does not properly initialize the XML parser or choose handlersGHSA-4xr4-4c65-hj7f

HIGH

GHSA-4xr4-4c65-hj7f is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.apache.tika:tika-core. A fix is available for org.apache.tika:tika-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Also known asCVE-2016-4434
Published
Updated
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
3.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs89th percentile — riskier than 89% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%1.51%3.03%4.54%0.4%3.6%May 26Sep 26Nov 26

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
☕org.apache.tika:tika-core

Real-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

Apache Tika before 1.13 does not properly initialize the XML parser or choose handlers, which might allow remote attackers to conduct XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via vectors involving (1) spreadsheets in OOXML files and (2) XMP metadata in PDF and other file formats, a related issue to CVE-2016-2175.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
☕Mavenorg.apache.tika:tika-coreall versions1.13org.apache.tika:tika-core:1.13

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations
Application
tikaapache
1 version
1.12

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.tika:tika-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update org.apache.tika:tika-core to 1.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4xr4-4c65-hj7f is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate
ProductFixed inAdvisory
Red Hat JBoss BPMS 6.4see advisoryRHSA-2017:0249
Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6.4see advisoryRHSA-2017:0248
Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6.3tika-coreRHSA-2017:0272

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache Tika before 1.13 does not properly initialize the XML parser or choose handlers, which might allow remote attackers to conduct XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via vectors involving (1) spreadsheets in OOXML files and (2) XMP metadata in PDF and other file formats, a related issue to CVE-2016-2175.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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