A critical vulnerability in Apache Tika, tracked as CVE-2025-66516, allows attackers to compromise servers by uploading a specially crafted PDF file. The flaw impacts Apache Tika Core, Parsers, and the PDF parser module across a wide range of versions commonly used in document analysis and search workflows. The issue is rated critical because Tika is often embedded in automated processing pipelines, where untrusted files are parsed without manual review. The vulnerability arises from an XML External Entity (XXE) injection weakness in the way Tika handles XFA (XML Forms Architecture) data inside PDF documents. When a malicious PDF containing harmful XFA components is parsed, Tika may unintentionally evaluate external XML entities. This behavior can expose sensitive resources on the host system, including local files and internal network endpoints. Apache maintainers clarified that although an earlier related flaw, CVE-2025-54988, pointed to the PDF parser module, the deeper root cause resides in Tika Core itself. As a result, deployments that updated only the PDF parser module but did not upgrade tika-core to version 3.2.2 or later may still remain vulnerable. Older 1.x releases are also affected because the PDF parser was bundled within the general tika-parsers package. Organizations that use Apache Tika in file upload portals, search indexing, ingestion systems, or automated scanning tools are urged to assess their environments. Administrators should verify their Tika component versions, apply upgrades consistently across core and parser modules, and review any services that handle untrusted PDF files. Additional hardening measures and stricter input validation are recommended to prevent attackers from exploiting XXE to access internal systems or exfiltrate sensitive information.
Security researchers from SAFA uncovered four critical kernel heap overflow vulnerabilities in Avast Antivirus’s aswSnx.sys driver, tracked under CVE-2025-13032 and affecting ver...
Attackers with limited AWS permissions can still gain elevated access by manipulating boot-time or startup configurations on compute services such as EC2 and SageMaker. This issue,...
SeedSnatcher is a newly identified Android malware strain designed specifically to target cryptocurrency users. Distributed mainly through social media and messaging platforms, the...