GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6
MEDIUMGHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in org.verapdf:validation-model. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
veraPDF-validatio: Use of Default `DocumentBuilderFactory` leads to XXE When Processing Untrusted PDFs
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
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 | 1.30.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model | ≥ 1.31.1&&< 1.31.71 | 1.31.71 |
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta | ≥ 1.17.35&&< 1.30.2 | 1.30.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta | ≥ 1.31.1&&< 1.31.71 | 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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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 GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-cg9x-g3gm-h5h6 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.