Apache Tika is vulnerable to entity expansions which can lead to a denial of service attack
In Apache Tika 1.19 (CVE-2018-11761), we added an entity expansion limit for XML parsing. However, Tika reuses SAXParsers and calls reset() after each parse, which, for Xerces2 parsers, as per the documentation, removes the user-specified SecurityManager and thus removes entity expansion limits after the first parse. Apache Tika versions from 0.1 to 1.19 are therefore still vulnerable to entity expansions which can lead to a denial of service attack. Users should upgrade to 1.19.1 or later.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.apache.tika:tika-core | >= 0.1, < 1.19.1 | 1.19.1 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11796
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3892
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-h8q5-g2cj-qr5h
- https://github.com/apache/tika
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/88de8350cda9b184888ec294c813c5bd8a2081de8fd3666f8904bc05@%3Cdev.tika.apache.org%3E
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190903-0002
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105585
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-611- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.apache.tika:tika-core- Disclosed
- 17.10.2018
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 11:21
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-h8q5-g2cj-qr5h - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.apache.tika:tika-core
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 13
- First → latest
- 10.2018 12.2025
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 2
- High 6
- Medium 5
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 8
- 2019: 2
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 0
- 2022: 2
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 1
- 2026: 0
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Apache Tika is vulnerable to entity expansions which can lead to a denial of service attack this entry
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