#VU15310 XXE attack in Apache Tika - CVE-2018-11796

Vulnerability identifier: #VU15310

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-11796

CWE-ID: CWE-611

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Apache Tika
Server applications / Other server solutions

Vendor: Apache Foundation

Description
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to conduct XXE-attack.

The vulnerability exists due to improper handling of XML External Entities (XXEs) when parsing an XML file. A remote attacker can trick the victim into open an XML file that submits malicious input and cause a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Mitigation
Update to version 1.19.1.

Vulnerable software versions

Apache Tika: 0.8, 0.9, 0.10, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19

---

External links
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/88de8350cda9b184888ec294c813c5bd8a2081de8fd3666f8904bc05@%3Cdev...

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.