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TikaApplication · Apache

CVE-2016-4434

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-09-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Apache Tika before 1.13 fails to properly initialize the XML parser with secure settings, allowing XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. Attackers can exploit this through malicious OOXML spreadsheets or XMP metadata embedded in PDF and other file formats, potentially exposing local files or causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Tika to version 1.13 or later which includes proper XML parser configuration to disable external entity processing. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable XML external entity resolution in the XML parser configuration.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
TikaApplication
Affected:= 1.12

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Apache Tika version
    Locate the Tika jar file (tika-core.jar, tika-parsers.jar) and check the filename or examine the META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file for the Version attribute. Alternatively, run: java -jar tika-core-{version}.jar --version or check your project's pom.xml/build.gradle dependencies.
    Affected if The version is 1.12 exactly, or falls between 1.0 and 1.12 (any version before 1.13). Versions 1.13 and later are not affected.
  2. Determine if OOXML parsing is in use
    Check if your application parses Office Open XML formats (.xlsx, .pptx, .docx) using Tika's TikaParser or AutoDetectParser. Search code for ParseContext configurations handling these MIME types (application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.*).
    Affected if OOXML files are being parsed by Tika versions 1.12 or earlier - the XXE vulnerability can be triggered through malicious spreadsheet, presentation, or document files.
  3. Determine if XMP metadata extraction is in use
    Check if your application extracts XMP metadata from PDF or image files using Tika's Metadata class or TikaParser. Look for XMP parsing code paths or examine processed file types (PDF, JPEG, TIFF).
    Affected if XMP metadata extraction is performed by Tika versions 1.12 or earlier - embedded XMP data in processed files could trigger the XXE vulnerability.
  4. Verify XML parser configuration (advanced)
    If you have access to the Tika source or can inspect runtime parser settings, verify whether the XMLParser or underlying XMLStreamReader is configured with XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_DTD and XMLConstants.ACCESS_EXTERNAL_SCHEMA set to empty strings or with an XXE-preventing EntityResolver.
    Affected if The XML parser lacks external entity restrictions (no EntityResolver2 implementation blocking XXE, or external DTD/schema access is allowed).

Your environment is affected if Apache Tika version 1.12 or any earlier version is in use and the system processes OOXML files or extracts XMP metadata from files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Apache Tika to version 1.13 or later which includes proper XML parser configuration to disable external entity processing. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable XML external entity resolution in the XML parser configuration.

Fix this in Tika Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,420
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-4434 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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